


In my daughter's eyes

by smkkbert



Series: There goes my life [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: College AU, F/M, No cheating, Teenage Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-09-22 11:44:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 79,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9606251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smkkbert/pseuds/smkkbert
Summary: Six months after the birth of their daughter Mae Oliver and Felicity live in Boston as a young family. Going to college and raising a baby is more difficult than either of them could have seen coming. Especially Oliver seems to have trouble settling down in the new city. When he finally finds new friends, he soon finds himself being dragged back into old behavior. Will he realize before he risks everything he built the last months?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

>   
>   
>   
>  \--[ The sequel to The best mistake](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6861253/chapters/15661294) \--   
> 

“Clap, clap, clap your hands,” Felicity said in a singsong, holding Mae’s wrists and making her daughter’s tiny hands meet in front of her wide, blue eyes. “Clap your tiny hands.”

Mae released a delighted squeal, kicking her short legs. Her eyes were still focused on her hands, following each of the movements her mother initiated with them. Felicity smiled down on Mae, knowing exactly how much her daughter had grown to like this clapping game in the last days. She still had trouble to clap on her own, but that didn’t keep her from feeling intense joy about the clapping she was helped to do. Maybe in a few days she’d be able to clap her hands on her own. At six months it felt like her little baby girl developed every day.

“Clap, clap, clap your hands,” Felicity continued her singsong to Mae’s joy. “Clap your tiny hands.”

When Mae squealed once more, Felicity lifted her daughter against her chest and leaned back into the pillows with Mae resting on her chest. She could feel her daughter’s fast but even heartbeat against her ribs and smiled at the feeling. It was amazing how over the course of only six short months that had flown by Felicity knew she couldn’t make it through a day without feeling her daughter’s heartbeat against her chest like this anymore. She had grown too used of it already.

Felicity glanced at the clock on her nightstand shortly. She still had ten minutes before the alarm would go off and she would have to get up. Mae had woken her half an hour ago already, but Felicity didn’t mind because cuddle-time like this was the best way to start her day.

She turned her head to the other side and smiled at the view she was met with. Oliver was sleeping on his stomach, his arms pushed under his head to use them as a pillow. He was snoring loudly, still fast asleep. He had no trouble sleeping even with her singing and Mae’s sounds of joy. It was something he had probably grown used to in the last months too.

When the little girl released a deep sigh, Felicity chuckled and stroked her hand over her baby’s warm back, saying, “Yeah, you’re really having a rough time, don’t you? Being so cute all the time is so very exhausting, isn’t it?”

Of course Mae didn’t answer. Instead she rolled herself off her mother and onto the mattress between her parents. She giggled and wiggled her little arms, so Felicity reached out her hands to pull Mae back onto her chest, but the girl turned away and onto her stomach. She propped herself up onto her forearms and looked first to her mother on the right and then to her daddy on her left side.

“Mae,” Felicity said in a warning tone, knowing her daughter all too well, “we don’t wake daddy when he’s sleeping.”

Despite her mother’s words Mae reached out her little hand and put it right into Oliver’s face. He showed no sign that he had woken up, though. Mae, who seemed to be everything but happy about her daddy’s lack of attention, slapped his chin lightly.

“Madeleine Grace Smoak-Queen,” Felicity warned once more, using her daughter’s full name like her own mother still did whenever she wanted to rave and rant with her.

Of course the six-month-old was too young to care much about or even understand her mother’s warning. She just slapped Oliver’s chin once more. This time, as soon as her tiny fingers met Oliver’s stubbled chin, he angled his head and opened his mouth, so Mae’s fingers ended up between his lips. The little girl seemed to be taken aback because her squealing sounds fell silent and she watched where her hand disappeared in her daddy’s mouth with wide eyes.

When Oliver opened an eye to blink at her, Mae made a sound that was a mixture of insecurity about what was going on and amusement about her fingers still being in her daddy’s mouth. She turned her head to Felicity, looking at her to figure out how to react. Felicity smiled, shrugging her shoulders with a dramatic gasp for air. Mae giggled in response, turning her head back to look at Oliver again.

As soon as he had all of his daughter’s attention again, he hummed around her hand like he was trying to say something. Mae released a loud squeal. Her arm gave in and she sank into the pillow completely. Her face pressed into the fabric, barely muffling her delighted sounds, though. Oliver opened his mouth to free her hand and with a quick movement he pulled her against him, so her tummy pressed to his chest and she was holding her upper body propped up on her arms. Her lips were hovering right over his and she giggled happily, her eyes shining with amusement.

“Did you wake daddy although mommy told you not to?” he asked her with a chuckle.

Mae just giggled and lowered her head. She captured her daddy’s lips with hers, kissing him with her lips open. Oliver’s lips were full of her spit when she pulled back, smiling at him with so much love that it just warmed Felicity’s heart.

Oliver and Mae had easily become the most important people in her life. From the moment they had been in the hospital and held their baby girl for the first time, Oliver and Felicity had constantly moved forward in their relationship. They had gotten used to being very young parents with the help of both of their families, and once the time had come a few months ago, they had moved to Boston and into their first apartment like they had planned. Now they were living in here together, went to college and were raising their daughter together. It was exhausting because college was exhausting and raising a baby was exhausting, so both of it together was even more, but also very, very nice.

“What do you think, Mae?” Oliver asked. “Do we want mommy to cuddle with us?”

Chuckling quietly, Felicity snuggled up to Oliver’s side. Her head rested on his shoulder and her hand over his on their daughter’s back. She sighed contently, enjoying the warmth of Oliver’s body. When he kissed the top of her head, Felicity closed her eyes, a soft smile playing on her lips.

“When did she wake you?” Oliver asked sleepily.

“Half an hour ago.”

“I didn’t even hear her.”

Felicity chuckled, stroking her hand over his chest gently. She kissed his cheek before she snuggled her cheek back to his shoulder. “Don’t worry. I was almost awake anyway.”

“I love mornings like these,” Oliver whispered into her hair.

“So do I,” Felicity replied.

They enjoyed the little time they had left before the alarm eventually went off and forced them to end the comfortable morning cuddle. They rolled out of bed with a groan. Felicity sat on the mattress and stretched herself for a moment before she headed towards the bathroom. She made a short detour around the bed to gently peck Oliver’s lips and kiss Mae’s temple before she continued her way to the shower.

Since they had moved to Boston and away from most of their family and friends, they had developed a perfect routine that helped them to manage their everyday life. Their schedules at college and the fact that they had a baby didn’t exactly allow them to just live for the day. Almost every second of their day was well planned to make sure they had the time they needed for college and the time Mae needed too. It wasn’t easy, but it worked.

When Felicity stepped into the kitchen twenty minutes later, Mae was sitting in her highchair, drinking her morning dose of milk and watching her daddy cook. When he flipped the pancake in the air, she let out a squeal. Lately, the little girl enjoyed almost everything that was happening around her.

Felicity leaned into the doorframe, watching these two for a moment. She didn’t want to deny that becoming a mother at the young age of only eighteen hadn’t been the best of her life choices. Since Mae had been born, there hadn’t been a single day that she had regretted her decision to keep the little girl, though. Yes, their life would be a lot easier without the troubles of raising a baby, but it would also be missing a really important part. Felicity barely remembered how her life had been before she had become pregnant.

“You have perfect timing,” Oliver said, pulling her from her thoughts. “Sit down. Pancakes are coming. I guess you want your chocolate chip pancakes with extra chocolate sauce?”

“You know me all too well,” Felicity replied with a wide grin and sat down at the table next to Mae, tickling her feet. She kicked her legs against her mother’s hand and giggled. Mae held out her bottle of milk for Felicity, making her chuckle.

“No, no, that’s your breakfast, sweetheart,” Felicity said. “Daddy makes mommy her own breakfast.”

“And it’s already here,” Oliver told her and put a plate with the pancake in front of her.

Felicity cocked her head, taking in the path of the chocolate sauce on her pancake. “Is that a heart?”

“Yeah…” Oliver sat down at the table opposite from her, so Mae was sitting between them. He scratched the back of his head and puckered his lips. “I forgot the chocolate sauce was going to melt. Now it looks like a crippled… something.”

“It’s still sweet,” Felicity told him. She quickly rolled the pancake and took a bite. “Unfortunately I can’t take all the time to appreciate this delicious and hopefully romantic gesture because the bus schedule has been altered which means that I need to leave ten minutes earlier.”

“That would be in like two minutes.”

“Two minutes?” Felicity asked, her eyes widening.

Oliver nodded. “Maybe you should have set the alarm for ten minutes earlier.”

“Shit! I forgot.”

He gasped for breath dramatically, looking at Mae. Tickling her little tummy, he asked her, “Did you hear what mommy just said?”

“I know we said no swear words in front of Mae, but she doesn’t talk yet and won’t be able to repeat anytime soon, so I guess this one time it should be excused.”

Oliver chuckled. “Should I drop Mae at Lyla’s today? You would have at least two minutes more to have breakfast and wouldn’t have to-“ Oliver stopped, watching her with his head cocked. “Did you just push that entire half of the pancake that was left into your mouth?”

Felicity smiled as much as her full mouth allowed her to. She quickly chewed the pancake in her mouth and swallowed it. Her throat protested strongly, unwilling to gulp a big piece like that. With a few sips of orange juice the tight feeling eased away, though.

She quickly got up, took Mae from her seat and walked around the table to Oliver.

“I have to go,” she hurried to explain and kissed his lips. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Oliver replied.

He put a hand to the back of her head and pulled her down for a much longer kiss. His tongue opened her lips to him. Felicity sighed into the kiss, wishing she had the time to sit down on his lap and enjoy the kiss for a few minutes more, so she could stroke her fingers over his short stubble and maybe-

Quickly she pulled away. “I really need to go.”

Oliver chuckled and got up. “I’ll walk you to the door.”

“Oh, you don’t have to. You can enjoy your breakfast and-“

When Oliver got up and took Mae from her nonetheless, Felicity stopped. She hurried to the door, Oliver following her slowly. She quickly took on her shoes and took her backpack. She reached out her arms for Mae and Oliver handed her over to her. She was almost out of the door when she turned back around to Oliver once more.

“Oh, Laurel wants to come over for dinner tonight. I told her it was fine.”

“Sure.” Oliver nodded. “I’ll cook.”

Felicity smiled. “I still can’t believe you love cooking.”

“As much as I love when you’re admiring me, you’re going to be late.”

Quickly Felicity pecked his lips once more and only called back over her shoulder, “See you later.”

She sped down the first flight of stairs to the main floor and knocked at her friend’s door.

“Baby, I gotta say goodbye to you already,” Felicity told Mae and peppered her cheek with lots of kisses, making the girl giggle. “As soon as Aunt Lyla opens the door, I will have to put you in her arms and run for the bus. Mommy takes more time tomorrow, okay?”

As soon as the last syllable had fallen from her lips, the door opened and Lyla stood in front of her, perking up her eyebrows. “Shouldn’t you be on your way to the bus?”

“I didn’t realize that there was only so little time,” Felicity hurried to say, pushing Mae into her friend’s arms. She quickly hurried to the door, calling back over her shoulder, “Oliver is going to pick her up after his last class. I forgot her jacket upstairs, but you have a key. Just get whatever you need. I’ll call you later.”

Lyla just chuckled, but Felicity barely heard it since she was already halfway out of the door. As soon as she stepped on the sidewalk, she saw the bus stopping at the other side of the street. Taking in a deep breath, she shot a glance to both sides and crossed the street quickly, reaching the bus just in time. Trying to catch her breath, she flopped herself into the first free seat and closed her eyes.

As well-planned as their life was, some days it seemed like everything was going wrong. It didn’t happen too often, but sometimes chaos snuck its way into their lives nonetheless. Today seemed to be one of those days though Felicity hoped that this rocky start was the end of the stressful part of the day.

She had no idea how she and Oliver would manage to do this without Lyla. Felicity knew her from Las Vegas where she had been friends with her mother. Since Lyla had had a baby a little more than a year ago too, she was taking some time away from work to raise her daughter. When Felicity had asked her if maybe she would take care of Mae too, she had agreed immediately.

Felicity couldn’t express how grateful she was because the only other option would have been to hire a nanny. Moira and Robert had offered to pay for one, but they were already paying so much money that Felicity hadn’t felt comfortable with that. Besides, she didn’t want Mae to be raised by a stranger. She knew there was nothing wrong about hiring a nanny, but Lyla had just seemed like the better option because she was friends with them. Luckily, Oliver had wholeheartedly agreed with that, so they were accepting the help Lyla offered for as long as that was the case. When Lyla wanted to go back to work in the next couple of months, they would get around hiring a nanny, though.

Releasing a low chuckle, Felicity opened her eyes and shook her head. She had no idea what other college students worried about. She was sure that it wasn’t if they had enough diapers at home or if she had enough time with her baby, though.

When the bus stopped at the campus, Felicity dismounted. She took a look to both sides and when she saw her friends, she waved and approached them hurriedly.

“Hi, guys.”

“Hey,” Curtis greeted her.

“Ready for ninety minutes of boredom?” Ray added.

Felicity groaned. She had tried not thinking about the fact that Thursdays always started with the most boring class. The introduction into coding didn’t teach her anything new and admittedly she felt like she knew more about it than their teacher did. Unfortunately the class was compulsory. The only good was that Ray and Curtis, who knew almost as much about coding and computers as she did, were forced to take the class too.

“Let’s go. We’re not able to avoid it anyway,” Felicity said with a sigh and together they strolled towards their classroom.

Ray and Curtis had easily become her best friends when she had moved here. They were just as much into technology as she was and they were fun to hang out with.

“You look a little stressed. Is everything alright?” Ray asked her on the way to class.

Felicity chuckled, waving his question off. “I forgot that there just isn’t enough time to leave the house ten minutes earlier without antedating the alarm accordingly. I basically had one minute for breakfast, had only a couple of seconds to drop Mae at Lyla’s and still had to run for the bus after that.”

“Why didn’t Oliver take her to your friend’s?” Curtis asked.

“Because I always take her to Lyla on Thursdays and Oliver picks her back up,” she explained, but quickly shook her head when her friends looked at her questioningly. The truth was that she couldn’t really explain why she had felt the need to drop Mae herself. It was just that Thursdays it was her job to take her to Lyla’s, and that was why she had wanted to do it. It was hard to explain and probably impossible to understand for someone who wasn’t a parent.

“Changing the subject,” Ray started, making a short pause and shooting Felicity a glance like he was giving her the opportunity to say something more, “I was thinking maybe we could form a study group together. Apart from the introduction class maybe we could need it at least for the exams at the end of the semester.”

Felicity nodded and smiled. “Sounds like a good idea.”

 

As soon as the teacher ended the class, Oliver packed in his stuff and headed towards the door. He shot a glance at his watch and figured that he could take his time since the next bus was only leaving in fifteen minutes. He would pick up Mae and start cooking the lasagna Felicity loved so much. She always released this low hum when she took a bite that reminded him a lot of the sound she made when his lips were taking a path down her body. Smiling Oliver shook his head.

He and Felicity had had their troubles in the past. The pregnancy had taken both of them by surprise and it had pushed them through some rough patches. They had made it through that, though, and that was all that mattered at the end. They were together and happy now.

Oliver sighed lowly and looked around, lifting his hand to greet one of his fellow students that was waiting in line at the coffee bar. Unfortunately in the few months he and Felicity had been living here, he still hadn’t found any real friends yet. He knew some people that were sitting in some of his classes, but that was it.

He knew that it needed more time, but it just wasn’t easy. He had basically been friends with Tommy since they had been born, so except for the short time at the end of Felicity’s pregnancy when he and Tommy hadn’t been talking to each other, they had always been friends and had always been by each other’s side. Not having him here now after all the time they had spent imagining going to college together felt weird.

Felicity and Mae were here, though. The two of them were the most important people in his life and they were worth the wait. He knew that if he said one word to Felicity about being unhappy here which wouldn’t be entirely true because apart from the lack of friends he was happy, she would offer to move back to Starling with him. He knew that MIT was her dream, though, so he was going to be patient for as long as he could.

He was just about to step outside of the building when he heard someone calling out his name behind him. “Ollie?”

Oliver turned around on his heels, looking into the hallway. He soon found a pretty redhead with green cat eyes hurrying towards him. It took him a few seconds, but once she stood in front of him, he frowned.

“Carrie?”

“Yes.” Carrie smiled happily and took a step close to hug him shortly. “Good to know that you still recognize an old friend.”

Oliver doubted that he and Carrie had ever been real friends, but they had gone to school together for a few years. Back in his wild party times they had even hung out with the same people every once in awhile. Carrie and her parents had moved away only a couple of weeks before Felicity and her mom had moved to Starling City and his entire life had changed.

“I didn’t know you were going to college here,” Oliver said.

“Well, in that case I knew more than you did because I knew you were going to college here. I’ve been looking out for you on every party. I already thought I have been informed incorrectly about it,” Carrie told him and playfully boxed his shoulder. “Why the hell aren’t I seeing you on any party? You usually attracted everyone’s attention. I thought I just needed to go to a party and a mob of girls would be surrounding you.”

“I don’t really go to parties anymore,” Oliver told her, pushing his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He felt weirdly disconnected from the memories of his party life and he didn’t like to think about them too much. “I have other priorities.”

“Don’t tell me you are actually burying your pretty nose in books now,” Carrie told him, cocking her head. “Ollie, we both know your parents will urge you to become part of the company and become a square soon enough. Enjoy your life as long as you can.”

Oliver pressed his lips together for a moment before he explained, “It’s not my parents or college but… my daughter. I have a six-months-old.”

Carrie’s eyes widened. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Oliver shook his head. “She’s my whole life.”

“I thought the tabloids were just making up stories when they wrote that,” Carrie told him, shaking her head in disbelief. “I guess your parents didn’t let you get away with it and forced you to-“

“Raising my daughter has been my own decision,” Oliver said tensely. “I decided that I wanted to be with my girlfriend and raise our daughter together. It wasn’t my parents’ idea. Actually, my mom was pretty much against it at the start.”

Carrie looked at him for a moment longer, almost seeming like she wanted to say something more. If the look on her face was any indication, she didn’t exactly have anything nice to say. When Oliver perked up his eyebrow challengingly, she quickly widened her smile, though. It looked cold and forced, but Oliver didn’t mind. He had no interest in talking to her anyway.

“I guess you are not interested in coming to the party at my house then,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “Bye, Oliver.”

She turned around on her heels and walked back the way she had come. Oliver looked after her for a moment, shaking his head. He barely knew anyone who understood why he had chosen to stay with Felicity raise Mae with her. Admittedly, during his party times he hadn’t really been friends with the kind of people that he really expected to understand him. Tommy was the only one who didn’t judge him which was only one more reason why he needed his friend here.

Oliver continued his way to the bus, trying to figure out if he needed to make a detour to the supermarket after he had picked up Mae or if he had everything he needed for the lasagna at home already. Realizing that he would have to take a look into the fridge to know the answer, he delayed that thought for later when he was home. He got onto the bus, held onto a handle and pulled out his phone from the pocket of his jacket to find some new recipes to test someday soon.

If anyone had ever told him that he would grow fond of cooking, he would have probably laughed it off. After Mae had been born, he had moved in with Felicity and her family. That way he had been able to spend as much time with his newborn daughter as possible. Whenever time had allowed it, he had gone back to the mansion and asked Raisa to teach him how to cook. Since he had known that he and Felicity would eventually move to Boston and live alone, he had felt the need to learn some basic things to get through their everyday life. Somehow he had started to like cooking a lot more than he had thought he would.

In the last months Oliver had learned to love of a lot of things he had never thought he’d like, though. First and foremost he had learned to love being a dad. He remembered how scared he had been when Felicity had told him that she was pregnant and there were still a lot of situations that scared the shit out of him, but he loved Mae and life without her seemed to be impossible. He didn’t even know what sense his life had made before he had held his little baby girl in his arms for the first time.

When he had woken up this morning and had heard Felicity playing the clapping game with Mae, he had just pretended to be asleep, so he could enjoy the sound of her singing and the squealing sounds Mae had released in response for a little longer. Almost his entire life revolved around these two. Of course he was nosy about what other things college life had to offer. Tommy sent him photos of his party nights every now and then and there was this stitch of something Oliver couldn’t name because he knew he was missing that, but…

At the end of the day all that really mattered where Felicity and Madeleine, right?

When the bus stopped in front of the apartment house he lived in, Oliver pushed his phone back into the pocket of his jacket and got out of the bus. He quickly crossed the street, entered the apartment building and knocked at the Diggles’ door.

Lyla and John Diggle were a gift from god. If it wasn’t for them, Oliver had no idea how he and Felicity would manage their life here. Except for Laurel, who lived in an apartment only a couple of blocks away and studied at Harvard, they didn’t have any family here that could support them. Lyla was almost like an aunt to Felicity though and she was willing to help whenever and however she could. Besides, thanks to the time Mae spent with the Diggles she already had found her first best friend in Andria at least as much as a six-month-old and a thirteen-month-old could be inseparable best friends.

He knocked at the door quietly once more and it only took a couple of seconds before the door was being opened. John Diggle was a tall guy with broad shoulders. He would be a frightening man if it wasn’t for the tiny girl that was standing in front of him with her little hands wrapped around his forefingers to support her stand. Andria Diggle had started taking her first steps a few days ago, still fully relying on her daddy to keep her upright for longer than three seconds, though.

“Hey, little lady,” Oliver said, bending down to level his face to Andria’s. “You look like you really got the whole walking thing right. Congrats.”

Andria smiled, turning her head and hiding her face against her daddy’s leg. She had been a little shy lately, so Oliver just chuckled quietly and straightened back up.

“Come in,” John said, nodding his head towards the inside of his apartment.

He turned around and walked them into the living room, Andria leading the way in front of him. Her steps were insecure and her legs wobbled, but she already looked a lot more comfortable with her walking than she had when Oliver had seen her walk like this a few days ago. He couldn’t wait until Mae was taking her first steps or saying her first word or any other of those milestones the first two years of a baby’s life included.

When they stepped into the living room, Oliver’s eyes fell on Mae immediately. She was lying on a blanket on the floor where she was happily sucking at her sock.

“Hi, Sweetie,” Oliver said and immediately Mae let go of her foot to reach out her hands for her daddy. He lifted her into his arms without hesitation, nuzzling his nose with his. Mae put her hands to his daddy’s cheek and giggled, making Oliver smile. “Did you behave?”

John chuckled. “She’s a little sunshine and makes it really easy.”

Oliver smiled and kissed his daughter’s cheek. She really was a little sweetheart and sunshine. She was definitely taking after her mother with her cheerfulness.

“Sit down,” John suggested, taking a seat on the couch and pulling Andria to his lap.

“Thanks,” Oliver replied and sat down on the armchair opposite with Mae on his lap. “Where’s Lyla?”

“She went grocery shopping,” John replied. “She mentioned that Felicity seemed a little stressed this morning. Everything alright?”

“Yes,” Oliver responded and chuckled when he remembered how Felicity had pushed half of her pancake into her mouth in one go. She had looked adorable, almost like a chipmunk. It was impossible to not be utterly and completely in love with her. “Felicity’s bus is coming earlier now and she thought she would manage to make it in time without changing her alarm, but-“

“Don’t you have little to no time in the mornings as it is?”

Oliver chuckled. “Absolutely. Felicity just didn’t realize. Anyway, we just need to set the alarm earlier. That way everything will be alright and I’m sorry that you need to take her longer now. It’ just that-“

“No reason to apologize,” John replied, shaking his head. “I have to admit when Lyla told me about this whole idea of two teenagers moving into the apartment upstairs without any support but us I didn’t think that you would make it, but… you and Felicity are handling the situation with being parents and going to college really well.”

“We’re trying,” Oliver explained.

“No, you really got it.”

“We couldn’t do it without you and Lyla.”

John waved it off. “We help whenever we can. Felicity is basically family to Lyla and that makes her family to me.”

Oliver smiled. He remembered how worried he and Felicity had been when they had found out she was pregnant. They had thought that they wouldn’t make it and all the struggles of being parents would eventually force them apart. Instead of that it had only made them stronger, them as individuals as well as them as a couple. They did have their struggles, but so far they had always managed to pull through. Oliver could only hope that they would keep making it through whatever struggles life would throw at them.

“I have to go now. Laurel’s coming over for dinner tonight and I still need to cook,” Oliver said after a while and got up. When John was about to get up to, Oliver gestured him to stop. “I’ll find my way out. Thanks.”

“Say hello to Felicity from me.”

“I will.”

Oliver was already halfway through the door from the living room to the hallway when John asked, “Hey, what do you think about going to the gym together again? It’s been awhile.”

Oliver stopped in the door, turning around to John and smiled. “Sounds like a good idea. I’ll talk to Felicity to check when there’s time and text you.”

“Sure,” John said and waved goodbye.

It was kind of funny that John was the only real friend he had here. The man was more than fifteen years older than him, but he was the only one he could really talk to. Besides, since they were both sport fanatics and fathers, they even shared the same interests.

Back in his and Felicity’s apartment, Oliver took a look into their fridge. Finding that he had everything he needed, he stretched a blanket on the kitchen floor and put Mae down onto it. He gave her some toys and stuffed animals including her pink octopus to play with. He then stepped towards the kitchen counter and started preparing the lasagna.

He realized once more that cooking really had turned into hobby of his. Chopping up peppers and zucchini like he had to do for the lasagna for example was kind of relaxing for him. A few months ago playing football had been the only thing to really have that effect on him. He had given up on football when he had been kicked out of the team for punching Max Fuller’s face after he had offended Felicity and their baby.

A lot of things had changed since then. His and Felicity’s relationship had become official. They had become parents. They had moved to Boston. Whenever he thought about it, he realized how long ago high school felt already. It was crazy.

When he felt Mae’s hand on his foot, he looked down and found her lying on her back right next to his foot. She was holding her pink octopus and smiled at him.

“What are you doing?” he asked her. When Mae reached out her arms, Oliver chuckled and lifted her onto his arm. She snuggled her head to his shoulder. “You want to make sure daddy does everything right, hm? That’s a good girl.”

Luckily, Oliver had grown used to using only one arm for everything he did, so he always had one arm free for his little cuddle-monster. With Mae snuggled to his side and her little fingers playing with the neckline of his henley, Oliver finished preparing the lasagna and put it into the oven.

Just when he was about to suggest to Mae continuing the cuddling on the couch, his phone rang.

“Tommy,” he greeted as soon as he had seen his best friend’s name on the display and taken the call.

“Hey,” Tommy’s raspy voice replied.

Oliver chuckled. “You sound like you had just got out of bed after a very long night.”

“My night ended around ten a.m. and my new day indeed just started,” his friend responded, a grin audible in his voice. “I love college life. Just wanted to check how you are.”

“I am great. I-“

When Mae leaned back in his arms and put her hands to his cheeks, babbling a few meaningless syllables, Oliver stopped and just smiled at her. If all her babbling these past days was any indication, her love for talking was something else she had inherited from her mother.

“I hear you are in company of a girl,” Tommy stated. “Good for you.”

Oliver chuckled. “We both know I am in company of one of my girls most of the time. Did you see the photos I sent you last week?”

“Yes. I am glad to see that she looks less like an alien now though I have to say with her chubby, little-“

“Be careful,” Oliver warned teasingly. “That’s my daughter you’re talking about.”

“And she is such a pretty girl,” Tommy hurried to say and laughed. “What are your plans for tonight?”

“Laurel is coming over for dinner.”

There was a short pause before Tommy hurried to say, “Sounds cool. Listen, I need to hang up. I promised my dad I would go to at least one class today.”

“Alright. Bye, man.”

“Bye.”

Oliver hung and looked at Mae. “What do you think, Sweetie? Is Uncle Tommy still in love with Aunt Laurel?” The little girl squealed and Oliver kissed her lips, chuckling slightly. “Yes, that’s what I was thinking.”

 

“Hey, you’re already here,” Felicity said slightly out of breath when she arrived in front of the door of her apartment and ran into her stepsister.

“Am I too early?” Laurel asked.

“No,” Felicity replied with a chuckle and pulled her sister and friend into a short hug. “Actually I am too late. Busses seem to hate me today.”

Laurel chuckled. “That bad?”

“Oh, don’t ask.” Felicity waved it off. After her struggle to catch the bus in time this morning she should have probably been prepared for another run for the bus in the evening, but she just hadn’t been which had ended with terrible side stitches that still lasted now. “How are you doing?”

“Great,” Laurel replied. “My classes have only gotten more interesting. The people are fun to hang out with and I have a date.”

Felicity stopped looking for her keys in the backpack for a moment and looked at Laurel, perking up an eyebrow. “A date?”

“His name is Adrian Chase. We have some classes together,” Laurel replied with a wide smile. “He asked me out for dinner yesterday.”

“Sounds good.”

“Feels good.”

“That’s even more important,” Felicity said with a chuckle.

When she finally pulled her keys out of her purse, she quickly unlocked the door and let them in. While they were both getting out of their jackets, Oliver strolled towards them from the living room.

“Look, Mae, mommy’s home and she brought Aunt Laurel.”

“Hi, Ollie,” Laurel said and took Mae from him, kissing her cheek. The little girl reached out her arms over Laurel’s shoulder for her mommy, though, and released a sound of displeasure. Laurel chuckled. “I know. I just pushed to the front and you want mommy first, hm?”

Felicity chuckled and stepped behind Laurel to kiss the tip of her daughter’s nose. Mae was a little cuddler and she really made it easy for them with all her smiling and babbling. Just in the evening hours she got whiney from time to time. Felicity’s lips moved up her daughter’s face to her forehead and kissed her there too. With a tired sigh her head eventually came to rest against Laurel’s shoulder, content with the greeting she had gotten from her mommy.

“Do you want to put her into her pajamas?” Felicity asked.

Laurel nodded. “Oh, yes absolutely. I’ll use every second I get to spend with my little niece today. I don’t see her enough.”

While Laurel took Mae to her nursery, talking to her with quiet voice, Felicity turned to Oliver and circled his waist with her arms.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hey,” he replied.

She straightened up onto the tip of her toes and kissed his lips. Oliver’s hands framed her face and he angled her head back, so he could stroke his tongue into her mouth and deepen the kiss. Their foreheads stayed in touch even after their lips parted. They enjoyed the intimacy of being close without saying a word.

Sometimes Felicity felt like it was really weird. Being a parent sometimes made her feel like she was so adult already, but then college and moments like this reminded her that she was just a teenager after all. She was a teenager who had just started college and who was madly in love with her first real boyfriend. She still felt her stomach flutter with thousands of butterflies whenever he kissed her.

“How was your day?” she asked after a moment.

“Unspectacular,” Oliver replied with a chuckle. He took her hand and pulled her with him into the kitchen. “How was yours?”

“Except for the drama with the busses it was okay, I guess,” Felicity replied. “Curtis, Ray and I want to meet for study group each Wednesday at least for now. Would that work for you?”

“Sure,” Oliver replied with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “John and I want to head to the gym someday soon again, but I think we’d rather do that at the weekend when you’re home, so Lyla doesn’t have to take care of Mae even longer.”

Felicity watched him closely, biting down on her bottom lip. She knew that Oliver hadn’t had it as easy as she had with finding friends. She had basically met Ray and Curtis on her first day and they had been friends ever since. For Oliver it was more difficult.

“Everything alright?”

Oliver sighed, leaning back against the kitchen counter. He looked at her for a moment before he lowered his gaze to the floor. Felicity walked over to him, circling his waist with her arms and putting her chin to his chest. She quietly waited for him to speak, giving him the time he needed. It took a moment before he put his hands to her hips and kissed her lips shortly.

“I love you,” he said when he pulled back enough to look at her.

“But you’re not happy here,” Felicity said.

“You and Mae make me happy,” Oliver objected. Felicity cocked her head, knowing that it wasn’t the full truth. Oliver sighed and explained, “It’s just that for some reasons I fail to make friends or whatever and I… I want to give it more time. I will give it more time. It’s just hard.”

Felicity nodded, looking at him carefully. “You know that you only need to say one word and we pack our stuff and move back to Starling, right?”

Oliver smiled and pushed his fingers under the hem of her shirt, tickling her skin slightly and eliciting goosebumps there.

“I know,” he whispered, “but like I said I want to be patient.”

“You will tell me if you ever run out of patience, right?” Felicity told him. “As much as I love going to MIT, living here is only an option if you’re truly happy here.”

Oliver’s fingers pushed more under her shirt, his warm hands resting against the small of her back. Sighing, Felicity melted against him. She stroked her hands up and down his biceps, smiling at him.

“If I ever run out of patience, I will tell you,” he swore.

“Good,” Felicity replied.

Once more she straightened up onto the tip of her toes and kissed him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself closer to him. Sexy times had been cut short in the last months because between college and baby there just wasn’t as much time to enjoy being a couple. Maybe, if they were lucky, Mae would sleep through one of the next nights and give them the chance to catch up on that, though. As long as that wasn’t the case, they would make up to the lack of sex with heavy make-out sessions and-

“Oh, Mae, close your eyes. This is not G-rated.”

At the sound of Laurel’s voice, Oliver and Felicity pulled apart. Felicity turned around and saw Laurel stepping into the kitchen, holding a hand in front of her little niece’s eyes. She squeezed Oliver’s hand shortly before she stepped closer to Laurel and chuckled. “Trust me, she has seen a lot worse.”

 

“I didn’t think we’d be able to catch up on the missing sex this fast,” Felicity mumbled against his lips, pushing her fingers into his short hair and pulling him closer to deepen the kiss.

Oliver put his flat hand against her ribcage under her pajama shirt. He could feel the fast beating of her heart. It made him smile against her lips and he sighed into her mouth. He loved how she still reacted to each of his touches so easily.

“I’m surprised too,” Oliver replied. When Felicity’s breathing shortened, he moved his lips over her jaw down to her neck, sucking at her tender skin. “I don’t complain, though.”

“Oh, absolutely not.”

When Laurel had gone home after dinner, Felicity had taken Mae to bed while Oliver had been doing the dishes. Thanks to the fact that their little girl had fallen asleep easily tonight, Oliver and Felicity had both still been far from tired when they had fallen into bed and because of that they had soon started to make out.

“Maybe we should hurry up,” Felicity suggested and wrapped her legs around his hips, “before Mae decides differently and-“

As if she had only waited for her parents to remember that she was in the room next door, Mae started crying.

“-wakes up,” Felicity finished her sentence with a sigh.

“It would have been too great if she had slept through the night.” With a sigh of his own Oliver rolled off of Felicity. When she sat up and started moving out of the bed, Oliver quickly got out of bed and shook his head. “I’ll calm her down.”

“I will stay here, waiting for you,” Felicity promised.

Oliver stopped in the doorframe and turned back to her, watching Felicity stretching herself out on the mattress. “If you want to help, you could get naked already.”

Felicity chuckled. “If you think it will help.”

“Oh, it will definitely help,” Oliver replied and winked at her before he left towards the nursery next door.

As soon as he opened the door to the completely dark room, Mae’s cries stopped. Oliver perked up an eyebrow and stepped closer to the crib. His little girl was lying in the middle of her bed, playing with her feet and giggling at him amusedly.

Oliver chuckled. “You’re fine, aren’t you? You just wanted to check if mommy or daddy come and take a look at you if you’re crying, hm?”

Mae squealed. She pushed her foot into her mouth, her lips widening to a smile around her toes. Oliver reached into the crib and tickled her tummy. Mae giggled, releasing her foot from her mouth to kick her legs a few times before she reached out her hands for her daddy.

Oliver shook his head. “No, no, no. Now is not playtime. Now is the time for sleep.”

He gently stroked a hand over her blonde hair before he stepped back from the bed. When Mae made no sound, he slowly walked to the door. The moment he took a step out of the room, though, she started crying again. Sighing, Oliver turned and walked back to her. He leaned over the crib to look into it and Mae started giggling again.

“You’re not being funny,” Oliver told her with whispered voice, shaking his head in amusement tickling her tummy. His little girl really had him wrapped around his little finger. “I know you think you are hilarious, though.”

Mae reached out her arms for him once more and Oliver sighed. He knew that if he left now, she would start the faked crying again and he would come back in. If he just let her cry, even if it was only faked, she’d eventually start crying for real and then she wouldn’t sleep for hours. Once Mae started to really cry, it was almost impossible to calm her down easily.

“Okay, we cuddle for a few minutes and then you go back to bed and sleep,” Oliver said and lifted her from the crib.

While Oliver started walking her up and down in the nursery, Mae rested her head on his shoulder with a sigh. Her right hand moved lazily over his stubble, playing with the short hair as if she needed it to reassure herself that her daddy was here and she wasn’t alone. He gently rubbed his hand up and down her back in the meantime and pressed his lips to her temple for a gentle kiss.

Oliver didn’t know how long he had been carrying her up and down her room, but eventually Mae’s hand sank from his cheek to his shoulder. She stopped moving and her breathing evened out. Relieved that she had fallen asleep, Oliver put her back down in her crib. He stayed close and stroked his hand over her tummy for a few seconds longer to make sure that she wouldn’t wake up.

Only when Mae showed no sign of realizing that she was back in her crib and her daddy was about to leave the room, Oliver tiptoed out of the nursery. He closed the door behind him and released a low sigh of relief. Sending a short prayer to heaven that she was going to sleep through the rest of the night, Oliver headed back to his and Felicity’s bedroom.

“So I hope you are ready for-“

When Oliver found Felicity sprawled out under the blanket, fast asleep, he released another sigh and shook his head. It would have indeed been too nice if they had managed to catch up on the missing sex life tonight. Things just weren’t as easy for them. Felicity released a quiet snort and Oliver had to press his lips together to not chuckle.

He went to the bed and snuggled up to Felicity’s back, circling her slim waist with his arms and pulling her against his chest. He kissed the back of her head.

“I’m awake,” Felicity mumbled sleepily and released a tired sigh.

Oliver chuckled into her hair. “No, you are not.”

“I can wake up, though. Just give me a minute.”

“No need to wake. Just sleep. We will take the time when we are less tired,” he promised and kissed the back of her head once more. “Goodnight, Felicity.”

“Night.”

Only a few seconds later her breathing evened out again. He snuggled even closer to her, making sure that his body was pressed to her form perfectly. Even in her sleep Felicity released a sigh in response and her hand grabbed his fingers.

This, lying close to Felicity and hearing Mae’s even breathing over the baby monitor, was what he wanted. This was what he had fought to have for months during Felicity’s pregnancy. This was what made him happy. Everything else, namely the lack of real friends here in Boston, was going to sort itself out with time.


	2. Chapter 2

Oliver let out a frustrated sigh which earned him a scolding gaze from the kind of nerdy looking girl at the table next to him. He quickly put on a smile, wordlessly apologizing for daring to disrupt the silence in the library. The girl just perked up an eyebrow for a moment and lowered her eyes back to the book she was reading but not without rolling her eyes in annoyance before.

Yeah, Oliver might have forgotten that his charm only worked on one nerdy girl and that was the one that was probably already on her way home to pick up their daughter from their friends. On Mondays he dropped Mae at the Diggles and Felicity picked her up after her last class. Unlike when he was home first Felicity just didn’t cook – which was probably better for both of their health – but ordered takeout for them.

Suppressing another sigh because he didn’t want to attract the studying girl’s disapproving eyes once more, Oliver pulled his phone from the pocket of his leather jacket. He smiled when he saw the photo of the lock screen. It was the first photo he had taken of his little family in the hospital the day Mae had been born. In the last six months he had never changed it. He had saved thousands of photos of his two girls and him on his phone, but this was still his favorite one.

When a sigh escaped his lips after all, the nerdy girl’s eyes found his face immediately, basically throwing daggers at him. Oliver quickly focused back on his phone, avoiding her gaze and opened the text messenger.

The nerdy girl – though looking completely different from her – reminded him of Felicity. Before they had been together, he had been in the library of their high school exactly one time. It wasn’t his usual place to spend time, but he had needed to find some books for an English assignment that he had needed in order to get a good grade. He had been texting Tommy and laughed loudly, disrupting the quiet in the library. When his laughter had become too much for her, Felicity had come over to his table and reminded him to be quiet, being quite loud herself as she had done so. Oliver wouldn’t say it had been love at first sight, but he had come to the library more often after that. He hadn’t studied, though. Instead he had watched the cute blonde that had given him hell for daring to disrupt the quiet of the library. There had just been something about her…

Smiling, Oliver texted Felicity.

**O:** Gonna be home late. I have to read a text I don’t understand a word of yet.

**F:** For your Russian class?

**O:** No, it’s actually English but I wouldn’t understand it more or less if it was Russian…

**F:** XD Poor you! Do you want me to wait for you with dinner?

Oliver hesitated for a moment. Breakfast was often cut short and they spent lunch separated at their colleges except for the weekends. That was why they usually tried very hard to have dinner together, so they could tell each other about their days and spend some time with Mae together. It wasn’t easy to explain, but with how crazy their life was routines like that were quite important to them. Always having dinner together was one of them, always spending Tuesday evenings together for example a different one. Oliver didn’t like to disrupt their dinner routine, but he and Felicity both knew that sometimes there was no other option and since he needed to work through this text, there wasn’t another way now.

**O:** It might get late. :( Just order Chinese. I can heat that up later.

**F:** Okay. I am on my way home now. See you later. xoxo

**O:** See you later.  <3

He looked at the photo of his lock screen for a moment longer before he put his phone away and stuck his nose back into the book. Studying had never been his strong suit. Oliver wasn’t stupid or anything, but he also wasn’t a genius like Felicity was. During the first time they had been together, when they had still been in high school and been meeting in secret, she had helped him studying… especially for Biology. Shaking his head, Oliver propped his head up onto his hand and started reading the text for the umpteenth time.

“Oliver Queen!”

At the sound of his name Oliver lifted his head back up. He turned around to where the voice had come from, seeing a guy that was vaguely familiar walking towards him. He was tall, had a craggy face and severely gelled hair. He was smiling at him like they were old friends, but Oliver couldn’t remember if he should know him from Starling of if they were sitting in the same class.

Before he could figure out how he knew that guy, a movement at the corner of his eye attract his attention and Oliver turned around to see the nerdy girl packing her things. With her books in her arms and a last scolding look into his direction she left the quiet zone. Oliver puckered his lips. One more person he would probably never become friends with.

Oliver didn’t have much time to think about that though because the next moment the vaguely familiar guy sat down next to him. He still smiled widely, giving Oliver a quick look up and down before he said, “Good to see you again, Ollie. It’s been… I don’t know… I think the last time we met was Tommy’s sixteenth birthday.”

“Sebastian,” Oliver finally said. “I didn’t recognize you at first.”

Sebastian chuckled, moving a hand through his hair. “Well, puberty has been good on me.”

That was probably an understatement Oliver thought to himself but nodded his head nonetheless. The last time he had seen Sebastian Blood had indeed been during one of Tommy’s birthday parties. He had been smaller back then, not really having hit a growth spurt at that time. Tommy had known him from somewhere and brought him into their circle of friends. He hadn’t stayed there long since his parents’ divorce had pushed his mother to move to the other end of the country with him.

“First Carrie, now you,” Oliver said with a chuckle and shook his head. “It’s weird seeing so many familiar faces here all of a sudden.”

Sebastian grinned. “From what Carrie told me it’s rather because of your changed lifestyle than ours, though. That hasn’t changed that much after all.”

Oliver released a low sigh. He hadn’t thought much about Carrie since his short encounter with her last week. He had been annoyed about her reaction to the news that he was a father, but he hadn’t cared much about it. He was used to people reacting to it like that anyway.

“So Carrie told you about Madeleine?”

“I have seen you and who I suppose is your girlfriend with a baby in the park last weekend when I was jogging,” Sebastian replied. “I wasn’t sure because I am not that much interested in the tabloids to know if the stories about you being a teenage dad were true, but Carrie confirmed it after she met you.”

“Carrie and you are…”

“Oh, no!” Sebastian laughed, shaking his head. “I think Carrie is just one level of craziness too much for me.”

“But you are friends?”

Sebastian shrugged his shoulders. “Kind of. Anyway, you have a child which I guess isn’t that surprising. I am surprised you are a father, though, if you know what I mean.”

Oliver pressed his lips together and pulled them into his mouth, thinking about what to say. Sebastian’s words didn’t exactly sound like he was judging him. He seemed to be interested in Oliver’s change of attitude. Admittedly, the version of Oliver Sebastian had gotten to known years ago probably would have left Felicity alone with the responsibility. Oliver had changed and wasn’t that guy anymore, though.

“I love Felicity and Mae,” he simply replied, shrugging his shoulders.

“Well, I guess that is all that matters,” Sebastian told him, “though I guess it’s not easy. I mean I remember your parents…”

Oliver chuckled. “My mom was very firmly against us having this baby at the beginning. My dad supported us, though, and my mom came around when she realized I wouldn’t change my mind about it. Now they are both hopelessly in love with Mae. She wraps everyone around her little finger in an instance.”

Sebastian nodded slowly. “I don’t know if I am allowed to ask…”

“You’re actually the first person who knows me from high school and still decides to ask questions instead of judging about what has happened from the person I was before, so ask whatever you want.”

“Was the baby planned? I mean from the way you say your mother was against it and Felicity… that’s your girlfriend, right?”

Oliver nodded. “Yes, Felicity is my girlfriend. I love her and I loved her before she got pregnant. When we found out she was having a baby, we were both shocked. It took some time and some terrible headaches to get used to the idea but at the end we decided to do this together and that is what we do now.”

“And she didn’t… help making the pregnancy-“

“No,” Oliver interrupted immediately, shaking his head vehemently. “No, she didn’t. If you knew her, you’d know she didn’t. She’s not that kind of person, not at all.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude. I just-“

“Let’s forget about that.”

Sebastian smiled with relief, nodding. “Thanks.”

Apart from him being forced to take responsibility by his parents, Felicity being a gold digger was probably the most prominent rumor about him and her. Of course with his heritage the assumption that someone was using a pregnancy to become part of the rich and famous Queen Family seemed to be natural. It still annoyed him that people thought about Felicity like that, though. She wasn’t like that and if people ever took the time to really get to know her, they’d know that. Instead they just judged by what they thought they knew and didn’t give her a chance.

“Sounds like you are happy.”

Oliver nodded. Smiling, he released a low sigh. “It’s exhausting at times, but I can’t imagine it any other way anymore.”

Sebastian nodded. “I barely know how to handle college. I could never imagine raising a baby at the same time.”

“Felicity and I are a good team,” Oliver replied and chuckled. “And to be honest raising Mae feels a lot easier than college. Once you know which cry means she’s hungry, which one says she is tired and which one is her call for attention, it’s really easy. It took me a few weeks to figure out but since then she’s the easiest baby in the world, very content with everything.” He gestured at his book. “This is a thousand times more difficult.”

Chuckling, Sebastian leaned over and took a look at the book. “Is that for the philosophy class about critical thinking by Professor Stein?”

“Yes,” Oliver said, frowning. “Are you in the class too? I haven’t noticed you there…”

“That is because I am notably absent,” Sebastian replied with an amused grin. “My parents threaten to take me from college here if I don’t put some more effort into it, though. I was thinking about building a study group. Some others already agreed to come over to my place on Wednesday. Maybe you want to come too if that works with your daughter.”

“That would be my rescue.” Oliver laughed. “I don’t understand a word of what the text tries to tell me. I think I read the first sentences ten times already.”

“Professor Stein is said to put high requirements on his students, so I didn’t even try reading a thing,” Sebastian admitted. “I invited some other friends to come over to my place too, so we can all study together. Maybe you know someone who’d be interested?”

Oliver shook his head. “I don’t really have friends here yet. When people hear my name, they immediately remember what they read in the gossip magazines and think I am just a party boy. The party people would be disappointed and the others don’t even give me a chance.”

“Sounds like you’re caught between two stools.”

“Kind of,” Oliver replied with a sigh.

Sebastian smiled. “So you’re coming?”

“Absolutely.” Oliver nodded and shut the book. “I could use the help.”

“We could all use some help,” Sebastian told him, “and I will introduce you to a few people.”

“Thanks.”

“Not for that,” Sebastian said and waved it off. “I’ll text you my address and the time. I think I still have an old number of yours-“

“I still have the same I always had.”

“Perfect,” Sebastian said. “In that case see you on Wednesday?”

Oliver nodded. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“Great. Bye, man.”

“Bye.”

When Sebastian left, Oliver leaned back in the chair with a sigh of relief. A study group really was going to solve the two problems he had. It would help him with the studying and he would get to know some people. He had known that with time everything would be fixed.

 

“First floor,” Felicity said with playfully changed voice.

She bent her arms a little more and with that brought Mae, who she was holding over her, closer to her face. The little girl squealed with excitement, knowing exactly that one of her favorite things about the elevator game was going to come now. She was kicking her legs and wiggling with her arms, so Felicity almost had trouble to keep her in place. As good as that game served as training for the muscles in her arms, holding up seventeen wildly moving pounds with her hands wasn’t exactly as easy as it sounded.

“Ground floor,” Felicity said and immediately Mae grew quiet, looking at her mother with her eyes wide open and smiling at her happily. Slowly Felicity bent her arms even more until Mae’s nose bumped against hers gently. “Pling!”

Mae laughed with delight, infecting Felicity immediately. She lowered her daughter onto her chest completely, and Mae propped her upper body up on her forearms quickly, so she could pull herself a little bit up her mother’s body. She put one of her tiny hands to Felicity’s face and lowered her open lips to her mother’s mouth, giving her one of her slobbery kisses. Her little tongue swiped over Felicity’s firmly closed lips, leaving a thick layer of spit there.

When the baby’s lips lifted from her mother’s, Felicity quickly swiped the spit away. She muttered a “Thanks”, thinking to herself that the little girl really needed to learn how to kiss with her lips closed. Since she had discovered the fun of kissing, she had kissed with her lips wide open. What she loved the most was kissing Oliver’s nose like that. It always looked like she was trying to eat it. Felicity was sure that was going to bring problems soon now that Mae was slowly starting to teethe. Mae wasn’t exactly careful with her kisses, so it was only a matter of time until that wouldn’t take a good end.

Mae moved a little bit up Felicity’s body, putting both of her tiny hands to her mother’s face. She lowered her face until her nose bumped against Felicity’s like it had during the game and Mae squealed wildly in excitement. She looked at her mother expectantly.

“Do you want to play the elevator game again?” Felicity asked and Mae squealed once again. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

Just when she was about to hoist Mae back up, Felicity heard the front door being opened. She frowned. Oliver had texted her that he was going to be home late. Being thirty minutes late was not late enough for Felicity to think he would text her to not wait for him with dinner, so either something had happened that he had come home sooner after all or someone was breaking into her apartment. Felicity puckered her lips. What were the odds for a burglary in the middle of the day?

“Felicity?”

Apparently there was nothing she had to worry about.

Felicity sat up and with Mae on her hip she walked towards the small hall where Oliver was just slipping out of his shoes.

“Looks like daddy’s home already,” Felicity said.

Mae released a loud wail and her eyes welled up with tears.

“Hey, that’s not how we react when daddy’s coming home,” Oliver complained mildly and walked over to them. He took Mae from Felicity’s arms, pecking first Felicity’s lips and then Mae’s cheek. “We are happy when daddy is coming home.”

He tickled Mae’s tummy, smiling at her encouragingly. The little girl only cried out loudly and rubbed her teary eyes with her tiny hands. Her cheeks took on a deep red color when the tears started falling from her eyes. Oliver rubbed his hand over her back soothingly and kissed her forehead.

“Hey, what’s going on with you?”

“Daddy got in the way of another round of the elevator game, didn’t he?” Felicity asked, tickling one of Mae’s feet, but even that wasn’t enough to cheer the little girl up.

“Awww,” Oliver said, rocking the crying baby up and down on his hip. “Do you want to play a different game with daddy?”

“No,” Felicity replied immediately, shaking her head. She knew exactly what game Oliver had in mind. “No, no, no. Oliver, we talked about this. We are not playing the plane game when mommy is around and has to see this because mommy might get a heart attack.”

“Just turn around then,” Oliver suggested. When Felicity cocked her head and perked up an eyebrow, he smiled innocently. “Come on, she loves the game. It will cheer her up in no time and you know I am being careful.”

“I don’t know…”

Oliver turned Mae in his arms and lifted her, so their faces were on the same level and they were both looking at Felicity. He pushed his bottom lip forward, giving her a pleading look while more and more tears were streaming down Mae’s face. Felicity rolled her eyes, admitting defeat.

“But just one time,” Felicity said strictly, “and be careful.”

“Has daddy ever been not careful?”

Oliver was looking at Mae, hoisting her up a little more, but Felicity knew he was actually talking to her. Her front teeth buried into her bottom lip when she watched with held breath how Oliver hoisted up Mae a little more. The little girl grew quiet immediately though her eyes were still filled with tears. She probably knew exactly what game her daddy wanted to play with her and unlike her mommy she was excited about it.

Oliver bent his arms and threw her up in the air. Okay, her little body actually barely left his safe hands for more than an inch and even then his hands stayed loosely around her body. Felicity knew that their daughter was safe with Oliver, but she really couldn’t watch this game without her stomach protesting painfully even though Mae’s sobs had turned into happy giggles instantly.

“Okay, that’s enough of the wild playing,” Felicity said quickly and stepped towards Oliver, taking Mae from him. When Oliver gave her a look, she quickly changed the subject. “What are you doing home already? I thought it was going to take much longer.”

“I was studying in the library and met Sebastian Blood. I know him from Starling. He was friends with Tommy, but his parents got divorced and-“

“If this is a longer story, I suggest we go into the living room and sit down,” Felicity interrupted him. Smiling, she took his hand and tugged at it to pull him with her into the living room. They sat down on the couch opposite to each other, Mae in Felicity’s lap. Her little hands were playing with some strands of her mother’s hair. “So what did this Sebastian want?”

“He asked me to join a study group for my philosophy class. He is in the same class and doesn’t really understand the subject either, so he invited some friends to his place on Wednesday and now that I’ve said it I remember that you told me that you have study group on Wednesday that I totally forgot about.” Oliver pressed his lips together and pulled them into his mouth. “I’m sorry. I am going to text Sebastian and tell him that I need to pass because-“

“Let’s maybe ask Laurel if she can watch Mae before you cancel for Wednesday,” Felicity suggested. “When she was over for dinner last week, she complained that she doesn’t get to see Mae as often as she wished she would. I am sure that she wouldn’t mind babysitting her if she has time. That way we can both go to our study groups and Mae would be in good hands.”

Oliver nodded slowly before he puckered his lips. “Do you think she’d take care of Mae every Wednesday?”

Felicity chuckled. “Don’t worry. I just ask Ray and Curtis to reschedule our group to some other day.”

“Are you sure?” Oliver asked.

When Mae reached out her hands for him, he took her from Felicity’s lap and pulled her close to him. Smiling, Felicity watched their daughter playing with Oliver’s fingers like she had never seen fingers before. She lifted his hand and was about to suck at his fingers, so Felicity quickly grabbed the pacifier from the armrest and held it out for Mae. She leaned forward, closing her lips around the silicon and if it wasn’t for Oliver’s hands on her waist, she would have probably lost her balance and fell face-forward into the cushions. Sitting on her own did not belong to the things Mae was able to do yet. The doctor had said that this might take another two to three months for her to learn.

Stroking her fingers over Mae’s rosy cheek, she looked back up at Oliver, finding his expectant eyes on her. With a smile on her lips she took his hand and stroked her thumb over the knuckles of his hand.

“I am sure Ray and Curtis won’t mind. Besides, we are only three people, so it shouldn’t be that hard to find a different day to study,” Felicity told him. “Besides, I think  _ this _ – knowing that you might actually find some people to become friends with – is the happiest I have seen you in awhile, so I will do everything in my power to make sure it will stay like that.”

Oliver watched her for a long moment and pulled Mae closer to him. “You do know that you and Mae make me happy.”

It was statement, not a question. Oliver knew that she knew because there hadn’t been a day since Mae had been born that Felicity had had any reason to doubt this. Even when Mae had had terrible colic and she had been crying nonstop, so Oliver and Felicity had both been exhausted and nervous wrecks, she had known that he loved her and that he loved Mae.

“We all need friends, Oliver,” she told him. “What would I do if I hadn’t had Lyla or Ray and Curtis or Laurel here? Who would I complain to about you?”

Oliver cocked his head. “You complain about me?”

“Only when you play the plane game with Mae,” Felicity replied in a murmur, shooting him a quick smile. “Anyway, I am really happy you decided to stay in Boston despite the rocky start.”

“I was sure that with time everything would get solved,” Oliver told her.

Felicity nodded, watching him intensely. She puckered her lips, wondering if she should say what else was on her mind. After Oliver had finally found someone to become friends with, she didn’t want to ruin that for him. It was just that she remembered very clearly that not that long ago Oliver had mentioned once more that he had met someone he had known before and who didn’t seem to understand that he was not the person he used to be before like almost nobody in college had understood it.

Tommy had been the only one of his friends that had stuck around. Everyone else had turned their backs on Oliver. Making people believe that you were a teenage parent was hard. Making people believe that you were a teenage parent after you spent quite some time earning the reputation as a party- and playboy seemed to be even harder.

“I can see you thinking.”

“You do?” Felicity asked with a chuckle, not really doubting it because Oliver just knew her like that.

“You do that thing with your eyebrow,” Oliver replied with a smile, pointing at her forehead and Felicity lifted her fingers to it automatically. “What’s going on?”

“It’s just that… and don’t get me wrong… does he know about Mae?”

“Of course he does.”

“Oh,” Felicity said and chuckled, shaking her head. “I am sorry. It’s just that when you mentioned meeting an old friend last week you said that friend didn’t really get that you are not the same person as you have been before, so I thought maybe you would have just… you know… kept that little piece of information to yourself… for now.”

“I would never keep Mae a secret.”

“I know,” Felicity hurried to say, feeling even guiltier than she had when asking the question already. She framed his face with her hands and gave him a lingering kiss. “It was just that you were so unhappy about not having friends yet that I would actually understand if you kept her a secret from people at first. That way they could get to know you and wouldn’t judge you from the start.”

“That was never an option.”

“I’m sorry,” Felicity whispered. “I didn’t mean to-“

“No, no, it’s okay,” Oliver hurried to say, taking one of her hands from his face and holding it in his hand. Mae grabbed her parents’ linked fingers and played with their thumbs, distracting Oliver and Felicity for a short moment before they looked back at each other. “I do think it would be easier to find friends without Mae, but… She’s part of my life and I don’t want any friends who don’t accept her. I was angry when Carrie just assumed I was forced to stay with you and Mae because she didn’t want to accept that I love the both of you. Sebastian is different, though. He… might have some prejudices, but he asked instead of just assuming. He was really interested in finding out what was rumor and what was true. I think he accepts that I have changed and I guess he changed too. He might still party a lot, but…”

Oliver shrugged his shoulders and Felicity smiled. “That sounds really good. I would be really happy if this worked for you.”

Again Oliver nodded. “I think it will. Sebastian was always a rather good guy.”

Felicity smiled, squeezing his hand. “One question, though.”

“Shoot.”

“Who exactly is Carrie?”

“Hm?” Oliver asked.

“You mentioned a Carrie,” Felicity said, narrowing her eyes slightly.

“Oh, the old friend I met last week,” Oliver replied, puckering his lips. “I didn’t mention that she was a girl?”

“No, you must have forgotten.”

“Oh,” Oliver said slowly. “Sorry.”

Felicity nodded, pressing her lips together so firmly that she was sure they were white. Her hand held firmly onto Oliver’s, her gaze burning right under his skin. Oliver cocked his head, perking up an eyebrow. When Felicity stayed silent, he took Mae and lay her down on the fluffy carpet. Immediately she started rolling around and playing with the long fibers. Oliver looked back at Felicity, once more cocking his head.

“Are you jealous?”

“No,” Felicity said firmly, shaking her head. “That would be completely stupid because you only love me and we have a child together and we are happy. Besides, you already said that you didn’t like the way that Carrie-girl talked about our family. There is absolutely no reason for me to be jealous. It has to be a coincident that my fingertips are tickling with the need to claw someone’s eyes out.”

Oliver watched her for a long moment before he chuckled. He put his hands to her hips and pulled her towards him until she was straddling his lap. Straightening up, he captured her lips with his gently. Without any hesitation she melted against him. Her fingers played with the short hair at the back of his head and with a sigh she opened her lips to him. When Oliver lay back, he put an arm around her back and took her with him, so she was lying on top of.

Felicity was about to deepen the kiss just a little bit more when Mae released a squealing sound. Their lips parted, both their heads turning to look at their daughter. Felicity rested her cheek down against his, moving her head slightly so she could enjoy the delicious scratching of his stubble against her delicate skin.

Mae was lying on her back, looking at her parents with a wide smile on her lips. Her feet were up in the air, her fingers moving in the carpet. She was the sweetest baby girl in the world Felicity realized once more.

“She looks tired,” Oliver said.

Felicity chuckled. “Lyla said her nap was cut short, so I guess she is going to fall asleep very early tonight.”

“Hm…” Oliver hummed and slowly moved his fingertips up and down her back. “That sounds like something I like.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, hon. I am sure it will take some more hours before she falls asleep. If she falls asleep now, it’s not going to last long.”

Oliver turned his head back and looked at Felicity again. “Did you have dinner already?”

“Nope,” Felicity replied with a smile, “which is great because now we can have dinner together. Should I order Chinese?”

“How about I take you out to the Chinese restaurant instead?” Oliver suggested. “It’s right around the corner and it’s been awhile since we have gone out together the last time. Besides, if Mae is tired, we have good chances to be able to sit through dinner without any interruption.”

Felicity smiled. It really had been a long time since they have gone out together. Actually, now that she thought about it, they had never really gone out together. Their relationship had started in secret and then she had been pregnant and not felt like going out and before they had known it, they had been parents and moved to Boston and there had never been the time.

“I don’t think we have ever been out to dinner together.”

Oliver frowned, obviously thinking back to the last months they had shared and a memory of them having dinner together in a nice restaurant. When he didn’t seem to be able to find one, he looked back at Felicity.

“We really never did?” he asked, his frown deepening. “How have been together for months and never went out to dinner together?”

Felicity shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t think there is much about our relationship that went the normal way.”

He chuckled. “That might be true and admittedly going out to dinner might also not exactly been the kind of dating people do in high school.”

“Not that we would know about how normal dates in high school work,” Felicity replied with a short look at Mae.

“So, Felicity,” Oliver started slowly, “after more than one and a half years of  a relationship, having a baby together and moving across the country into a shared apartment, would you like to go out to dinner with me?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I think your idea to go out to have dinner together just comes so unexpected and… too fast for me?” They looked at each other for a moment before they both burst out into laughter. Felicity pecked his lips and got up. “I’ll change and then we can go.”

“Mae and I will be waiting for you to get ready.”

Stepping into the frame of the door, Felicity turned around and watched her little family. Oliver rolled from the couch slowly, lowering his body onto the carpet next to Mae. Putting one arm around the little girl, he pulled her against him and started peppering her cheek with lots of kisses.

Felicity smiled. She knew Oliver hadn’t really been unhappy these last weeks, but it was definitely good to see him as happy as this again. He really was happy now and that made her happy.


	3. Chapter 3

When he got off the bus, Oliver quickly pulled the zipper of his leather jacket higher. He hadn’t realized how cold it had gotten up until now. Taking the first steps into what was hopefully the right direction, he pulled his phone from the pocket of his jacket and checked that he really way on the right way.

He was almost nervous about this evening though he couldn’t say why. Meeting for a study group and actually studying together shouldn’t be as much of a big deal as the quick beating of his heart might want to make him believe it was. Sighing, Oliver had to admit to himself that it was less the studying and more meeting new people that made him nervous. That had never exactly made him nervous before either, but that was different now. He still didn’t really know anyone here and this was the closest to finding new friends he had been since moving to Boston.

Oliver really didn’t know why it was so difficult for him to find new friends now that he was a father. Of course most people his age didn’t waste a single thought on becoming parents yet which was only natural. If it hadn’t been for the unplanned pregnancy, he wouldn’t waste a thought on kids yet either. It wasn’t like being friends with him meant that they all needed to settle down and have kids now and despite what people might think teenage parenthood wasn’t contagious either.

Take Tommy for example! Tommy definitely didn’t think about having a baby now or anytime in the near future. God, he didn’t even hold her. Since Mae was born, he had never been closer to her than one foot. Of course he had found a hundred reasons why that was, but Oliver knew there was actually only one reason that kept Tommy from holding his best friend’s daughter – he was absolutely terrified of that little girl. He listened to whatever Oliver told him about Mae and asked about her occasionally, though, because Tommy cared about him and about what was going on in his life. That was all Oliver expected of a friend.

Chuckling, Oliver shook his head and turned onto the street to his right. It was the one Sebastian had texted him to come to for the study group. Quickly Oliver closed the map app on his phone and opened messenger instead.

**O:** Everything alright with Mae?

When he had left his home fifteen minutes ago, leaving Mae with Laurel, the little girl had been unusually whiney. She had reached her arms out for him longingly after he had given her a goodbye kiss on her red and slightly heated cheek. She had been clingy all day like she had known that her parents had decided to leave her for a few hours today.

Oliver had been going back and forth about whether or not to go to his study group because of that. Mae’s clinginess and her whining just unsettled him because usually she wasn’t like that. She had never minded being babysat, otherwise the whole deal with the Diggles would be for nothing. Anyway, leaving a crying baby, even when he knew that she was in good hands, really didn’t sit well with him.

Felicity had told him that it was probably just because she was teething. The last days it had become worse. Mae wasn’t eating that much anymore and her gums seemed to hurt badly. She was chewing on everything she could find. Felicity had bought these silicon finger stall you could by in a pharmacy. With them they could massage their daughter’s gums. It had helped a little, but the little girl was still in pain and clingy.

Laurel and Felicity had both told him to go to the study group despite that, though. Whatever he could do to make it easier for Mae, Laurel could do the same thing. Given that the study group and meeting new people was kind of important to him, he had let them talk him into going. He might not feel completely comfortable about it, but he knew it was probably the right thing to do.

**L:** It took awhile until she let herself be calmed down, but now she is all quiet. We’ve spent the last few minutes on the couch. She’s lying on my stomach, cuddling her pink octopus. We’re fine.

Oliver released a sigh of relief. This was good. If Mae was better, he felt better about going to the study group. Before he could text back, Laurel sent him another text.

**L:** By the way, Felicity and you are annoying. She texted me three times already. I am able to take care of my little niece for an evening without you two texting me every few minutes to check on us.

Oliver released a breathy chuckle, shaking his head. He knew Felicity had been a little worried too. She had just been a little less obvious about it, probably to not unsettle him even more. When Mae had been sick the first time, they had both freaked out because they hadn’t known what to do. Both of their mothers had to calm them down with all their experience about babies or otherwise he and Felicity would have gone insane.

**O:** If anything is going on, she’s crying or something, just text me and I’ll come back as soon as possible.

It didn’t take long until Laurel answered.

**L:** Don’t worry. Mae and I have everything under control. If that changes, I’ll text you immediately. Enjoy the studying. ;)

Sighing once more, Oliver pushed his phone back into the pocket of his jacket and took a quick look around until he found the house with the number 214. Loud music and voices came from an open window on the second floor. Studying could be difficult with that, Oliver thought with a chuckle, shaking his head.

He was about to ring the bell when the front door to the apartment complex opened from the inside. The man that stepped out held the door open for Oliver, so he quickly stepped in. The stench of cigarette smoke met him and Oliver scrunched up his nose. It looked like the party was going well if volume and stench were any benchmark for that. Well, someone had to live the cliché life of college students, right?

Shaking his head, Oliver walked upstairs. Sebastian lived in the apartment 2B, probably right next to the party. If his neighbors were the kind of people that threw a party every other day, Oliver wasn’t surprised that Sebastian had trouble studying.

When Oliver arrived at the second floor, he took a quick look to both his sides to find apartment B. He frowned when he found that it was the one the loud music and voices were coming from. Maybe he should check if he had remembered a wrong address or otherwise text Sebastian to see if maybe he had given him a wrong one. If there was a party taking place in this apartment here, it definitely couldn’t be the place where their study group was supposed to happen.

Before Oliver could grab his phone from the pocket of his jacket, though, the door opened and Sebastian stepped out, smiling at him wildly. “Ollie, hi. I was already wondering if you were out here.”

“Yeah…” Oliver said slowly. “I was a little bit surprised about the party. Weren’t we supposed to meet for a study group?”

Or had ‘study group’ been a codeword for ‘party’ he hadn’t gotten right because it had been like forever ago that he had been on a party the last time?

“Oh, yes.” Sebastian chuckled. He approached Oliver in the hallway, leaving the door to the apartment ajar. “After I invited you, I asked a few more people to come over and… I don’t know. It seems like the whole thing got out of hand. Suddenly more and more people came here, someone brought a beer barrel and the study group turned into a party crowd.”

Oliver pressed his lips together tightly. He knew a lot about lies and excuses. When he and Felicity had been dating in secret, he had needed a lot of lies and excuses to get Tommy off his back. His best friend had wanted to drag him from party to party when Oliver had much rather spent time in the library, learning about… Biology with Felicity. Anyway, because of that Oliver knew exactly when someone was lying to him and when they were telling the truth.

When Sebastian just continued to smile at him too widely to be really honest, Oliver crossed his arms in front of his chest and cocked his head, giving him a look. He hated when people tried to take him for a fool, especially when they were doing it so obviously.

Sebastian had the decency to stop the farce with a sigh. The wide smile fell from his lips and was replaced by an expression of maybe not shame but at least regret or whatever to call it. He lowered his gaze to the floor for a moment, moving his fingers through his gelled hair.

“Look, Ollie, I’m really sorry,” he said eventually. “The plan was to study for the class and then maybe drink a beer before I would kick all of you out until next week. It was never meant to get out of hand like this, but… to be honest I don’t really hang out with the kind of people that spend their evening studying. I know I should study more, but I am really not that motivated for something like that. Anyway, when I realized it would turn into a party, I thought about texting you and telling you the changed plans. Then I figured that you would most likely cancel for the evening, so I decided to not text you.”

Oliver perked up his eyebrow. “So I would come here, find there is a party going one here and leave then?”

“No,” Sebastian replied with a sigh. “Okay, I admit that I did this the wrong way. It’s just that you were so… sad… when I met you in the library and told me that you hadn’t found friends here.”

Oliver bit his tongue. Yes, he had been unhappy about that. It was no reason to lie to him, though, especially not like this. “And then?”

“I figured you wouldn’t come to the party if I told you about it because of your daughter. You live a different life now and I understand that your life is very different than ours and I don’t want to mess with that,” Sebastian explained. “You don’t need to turn your life upside down and spend every night partying from now on. We sometimes meet and don’t party either, you know? Anyway, I just think a little private party once in a while doesn’t hurt. You will get to know some people and you have fun together and you will have a lot of friends to hang out with between and after classes in like no time. This is just so they get to know you.”

Oliver bit his tongue even more firmly. He still didn’t like that Sebastian had lied to him, but everything else he had just said made sense. Partying was what most people in college did, so a party was probably where he was most likely to find new friends. It was just that Oliver remembered how most parties had ended for him when he had still been partying excessively. He had either been drunk, making out with some random girl or – like in most cases – both.

It was a long time since that had happened the last time and Oliver didn’t necessarily think that it would happen to him now. He was not really interested in getting drunk and there was no way he was going to hook up with any girl that wasn’t Felicity. The problem was that Oliver remembered very clearly that everyone else on the parties had done the same. Meeting people while they were drunk and/or randomly hooking up with others was not the beginning of the friendships he had hoped so build.

“I don’t know…”

Sebastian stepped closer, putting a hand to his shoulder. “Come on, you don’t even need to stay long. I just introduce you to some people that go to our college and within an hour you are already out here and on your way back to your daughter.”

Oliver pursed his lips, taking in a deep breath. “I’m really not sure this is a good idea.”

“Just one beer,” Sebastian urged him. “Now that you are here already…”

Oliver sighed. “Fine. I am going to stay one hour, but then I am out and no alcohol for me.”

“Alright.” Sebastian shrugged his shoulders. Before Oliver could say anything more, Sebastian already wrapped his arm around his shoulders and pulled him with him into the apartment. “The first one I got to introduce you to is Carter Bowen. He is a little arrogant, but he’s a lot of fun to hang out with once you know him. He throws the best kind of parties because his father lets him do whoever he pleases. We spent the last weekend on his yacht. It was by far the best party in a while. Besides, Carter’s older brother always gets us all the alcohol we need. Oh, just put your jacket to the stairs.”

“Your apartment has two floor?”

“No, the stairs lead to the roof. I always make sure they are barricaded when there is a party here. The last I need is trouble because someone fell from the roof while being drunk.”

“That makes sense,” Oliver mumbled though he felt it was probably even more trouble for the person who would fall down there, but he bit that back. He still had a slightly bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, but Sebastian was right. He was already here and what was one hour if that really helped him finding friends?

Sebastian was right. Carter Bowen was a little arrogant though Oliver would probably scratch the ‘little’ because his ego seemed to be filling the whole room. Handsome, rich boy obviously knew exactly how attracted the girls were to him. The fact that one pretty blonde was linked to each of his arms told Oliver that the girls didn’t seem to mind his attitude, though. Money beat character for them it seemed.

Despite Carter’s less than pleasant character there was one thing that made Oliver ignore his arrogance, though. Carter Bowen hated Max Fuller with passion.

“Okay, and now I want to hear the story that is behind this punch,” Carter said loudly. He took Oliver’s empty beer cup, threw it somewhere in the room behind him and thrust a full one into his hand the next second. “You struck him perfectly and I need to hear everything about how Max suffered.”

Oliver took a sip from his beer. When, back in high school, he had punched Max Fuller after he had offended Felicity and their at that time unborn baby, someone must have filmed the scene. Oliver hadn’t known there was a video until Carter had come up with it just like that. Oliver assumed that whoever had recorded the scene hadn’t dared to spread it after the school’s principal had been very particular about not allowing any rumor or something else to be spread about what had happened. Nobody wanted to be kicked out of school only months before their graduation. Carter had showed it to him and the little group of people they were standing with, complaining that there was no audio, so he couldn’t hear the pained whining when Fuller had gone down on his knees. Anyway, after watching the video twice, Carter had handed Oliver a beer instead of another coke and he hadn’t rejected it.

He didn’t like to admit it, but he was glad that he had decided to stay. Maybe these people weren’t exactly the ones he had pictured when he had figured that he needed to find friends here. He couldn’t say that he didn’t enjoy chatting with them about nothing important, though. It was nice to spend an evening relaxing like this.

“Spit it out, Queen,” Carter encouraged him.

Oliver shrugged his shoulders. “Max offended my girlfriend and I… stopped him.”

“And now the whole story with a little more details please.”

Oliver sighed. He wasn’t exactly proud of what he had done. When Max had started offending Felicity, he had told himself to keep calm and not lose control. Then Max had made a comment about Mae and he had just seen red. He had punched Max’ face again and again until his nose had been broken. He would have probably continued if it hadn’t been for Tommy and Laurel, who had held him back, and for Felicity to step in front of him and pull him away from his rage. On the other hand Oliver couldn’t really say that he regretted it either because Max had deserved that broken nose.

“Tommy and I were in the library to study. My girlfriend, her sister and a friend were studying at a table nearby. Max and his friends came into the library and started making fun of her. Her-“

“Make fun of her how?” Carter wanted to know.

Oliver’s grip on the beer cup tightened and he clenched his teeth. The more he thought back about Fuller, the more he felt the knuckles of his hand prickling with the need to punch him again. He didn’t consider himself a violent person, but the name Max Fuller alone was still enough to make him doubt that occasionally.

“I don’t remember what exactly he said,” Oliver lied because he didn’t want to go too much into the details of what Fuller had said, knowing that he would only get angrier. “He was very cruel to her, making fun of her pregnancy and the baby and her sisters-“

“Hold back a second!” Carter interrupted him. “Pregnancy? Baby?”

Oliver nodded. The video had ended before Felicity had stepped into the picture to calm him down and the video had been spread without any context. Oliver had thought that maybe Sebastian would have already mentioned that he was a dad, but apparently he had left that little detail unmentioned.

“My girlfriend got pregnant during our last year in high school. We have an almost seven months old daughter.”

“And Fuller offended the both of them?” Carter asked.

Again Oliver nodded, mumbling, “Though ‘offending’ might be an understatement.”

Carter stared at him with wide eyes for a moment longer before he said, “Dude, that guy is lucky you didn’t break his neck. Offending a guy’s girl is one thing, but the child?”

“Yeah, I just saw red,” Oliver explained, shrugging his shoulders, “and that video was the result.”

Carter chuckled, shaking his head. “Man, I know I should definitely never piss you off if you throw punches like that.”

“Probably better for your face,” Oliver mumbled.

After he had been kicked out of the football team at school because of this little incident, he had gone to the gym to work out on his own more often and free weights had been one his training schedule a lot. Besides, since he went to the gym with John more often, he even had someone to actually train him in boxing. Oliver did know how to pack a good punch and he wasn’t afraid to show that if he was provoked though he was sure it was the memory of Max Fuller’s words that make him think that.

“You definitely look like you are working out a lot,” the girl that was clinging to Carter’s right arm said.

Before Oliver got to reply, two hands pushed around his bicep from the side and a familiar voice said, “Oh, I can only confirm that from what your arms feel like.”

When Carrie clung to his arm – he had successfully suppressed the thought that she was friends with Sebastian and could maybe be here – Oliver quickly released his arm from her hands and took a step away from her, bringing some distance between them. “I do work out a lot, thanks.”

“You should join me in my private gym,” Carter suggested.

“Maybe I’ll be around for some relaxing hours in the sauna after that,” Carrie suggested, giving him what Oliver assumed was a seducing smile, but the only effect it had on him was that he felt the need to roll with his eyes.

“I think in that case I need to give it a pass,” Oliver replied, shooting Carrie a look.

The redhead looked like she wanted to say something more. Instead she puckered her lips and reached out her hand as if to touch his chest. Oliver quickly caught her wrist midair, intending to just push her hand away from him. When he got a look on her watch, though, his eyes widened.

“Wait, it’s already eleven?”

“Yes, why?” Carter asked.

“I need to…” Oliver pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans, searching for his phone. He groaned when he realized he had forgotten it in his jacket.

When he turned around to head towards the stairs where Sebastian had told him to put his jacket, Carter called after him, “Hey, Ollie? Where are you going?”

“Need to check my phone!” Oliver just called back over his shoulder.

He pushed through the partying crowd as quickly as possible, leaving his beer cup on a table in the living room. He had completely lost his sense of time. After he had let Sebastian take him into the apartment, he had introduced him to a few people before they had found Carter. Oliver hadn’t known that all of it had taken so long. He had never planned to stay this long, especially not without occasionally checking his phone to make sure Mae really was okay. He had thought the phone was in the pocket of his pants where he could feel the vibrations if someone texted him.

When he reached the hall and saw all the jackets on the stairs, Oliver groaned. “That’s great.”

He quickly started pushing the jackets out of the way until he finally found his. His hand immediately pushed into the pocket and pulled out his phone.

Seven messages from Laurel. Two messages and one missed call from Felicity.

“Fuck!”

Putting his jacket over his arm, he left Sebastian’s apartment and hurried down the stairs to get outside. He thought about calling a cab, but with a glance at the time on his phone he figured that maybe with a quick sprint he would catch the last bus. That was why the second he stepped outside on the sidewalk, he started running.

His mind was already running wildly, wondering what could have happened. Maybe Mae wasn’t just teething and she was actually sick like he had feared. Laurel had texted him so often, so maybe Mae was running a fever. Her cheek had already felt slightly heated when Oliver had kissed her cheek before leaving.

The moment he slumped into one of the free seats in the bus Oliver started reading the texts Laurel and Felicity had sent him.

**L:** I think Mae’s running a fever. Where is the medical thermometer?

**L:** Okay, found it! 101° F…

**L:** Texted my dad. He said leg compresses could help. I’m gonna try that.

**L:** Leg compresses helped at first, but now she is crying again. She really doesn’t seem okay. Maybe you should come home. Or should I text Felicity?

**L:** Ollie? Could you please send me a short text to make me know that you are on your way back home or at least reading this? I have never watched Mae when she was sick. I don’t know what to do!!!

**L:** OLLIE!!!

**F:** Where are you? Laurel has been trying to reach you for an hour!

**F:** Anyway, I am on my way back home now.

**L:** I called Felicity. Sorry I had to cut your evenings short. Let’s hope Mae has better mood the next time I watch her… :)

Oliver bit his tongue, suppressing a few curse words that came to his mind. He had always taken care that his phone was in his reach since Mae had been born. After what had happened during her birth, when he had been unavailable and Oliver had almost been too late to hear his daughter’s first cries, he had been very careful to have his phone in his reach all the time.

How could he have forgotten that today?

Taking in a deep breath and telling himself that Felicity was with Mae now so everything was alright, Oliver decided to listen to Felicity’s voice message. She had left it only fifteen minutes ago. When the message started with a whining sound from Mae, Oliver squeezed his eyes shut and suppressed another flood of curse words that came to his mind.

“Hey,” Felicity’s voice said. “Uhm… I guess your phone is out of your reach right now. Or maybe your battery died or you have forgotten your phone or lost it… in which cases leaving this message makes absolutely no sense…”

Oliver released a breathy chuckle, shaking his head. Felicity’s babbling never failed to cheer him up, no matter how crappy he felt.

“Anyway,” she continued after a moment, “Laurel tried to reach you because Mae is running a slight fever. It’s not that bad, though. I am home now and she is already feeling better. I guess being sick and not being with mommy and daddy was just not what sat well with our little baby girl.”

That was good. Mae was good. That really was the only thing that mattered right now.

“I am a little bit worried about you, though,” Felicity added, “because it’s really unlikely of you to not have your phone close. I hope it just means that you are having fun. Anyway, maybe you can text me or call me, so I know that you are okay. Well, that is if your phone wasn’t stolen or anything in which case leaving this message makes absolutely no sense… like I mentioned before already. Okay… uhm… Bye and see you later.”

Oliver bit down on his bottom lip, considering to text Felicity now. Since the bus turned into his street, though, he decided against it and pushed his phone into the pocket of his leather jacket instead. As soon as the bus stopped, Oliver dismounted and hurried towards his home.

He walked upstairs in like no time, so his breathing was heavy and his heart was beating quickly. Pulling out his keys from the pocket of his jeans, he tried to take some deep breaths and calm down. If Mae saw how unsettled he was, she was most likely going to start crying. She always reacted to her parent’s emotions. When they smiled, she smiled. When they were out of themselves, then she was too.

Oliver unlocked the door. He was met with silence, so he closed the door behind him quietly, put his keys to the small table next to the door and tiptoed through the small hall. He glanced into the kitchen, but nobody was there, so he tiptoed further to the living room.

He sucked in a deep breath, seeing both of his girls perfectly fine on the couch. Felicity was lying on her back, her head resting on the armrest of the couch. Mae was lying with her tummy down on her mother’s stomach. Her head was nestled against Felicity’s breasts as if to hear her heartbeat. They were both asleep, their chests rising and falling in the same rhythm as their breaths were synchronized.

Oliver squeezed his eyes shut, sending a prayer to a god he wasn’t sure he believed in that Mae was okay. He knew he had probably overreacted with his worry, but when his daughter was sick, he just freaked out and the fact that he hadn’t been available… Oliver shook his head.

Quietly he stepped closer to the bed. He moved his fingertips over Mae’s cheek. Her skin was still red and warm, but he was almost sure that the fever had already decreased. He watched his little girl for a few seconds, enjoying the sight of her sleeping peacefully, before he looked at Felicity. She was sleeping too, but unlike their daughter she looked slightly exhausted. There was a wrinkle between her eyebrows that told him that she had probably falling asleep thinking intensely. He brushed his thumb against it and it disappeared, making him smile.

Oliver lifted Felicity’s hand from Mae’s back and carefully lifted the sleeping baby into his arms. Mae didn’t move. She just released a deep sigh that mixed with Felicity’s when she turned onto her side.

“You scared the hell out of daddy, you know that?” Oliver whispered into Mae’s ear and kissed her temple, carrying her into her nursery. “Daddy is sorry for not being here sooner. He feels terrible about it. Good thing mommy came back to take care of you, right?”

When Oliver put Mae into her crib, her little fingers held onto the neckline of his shirt, unwilling to let go. He gently moved his thumb over the back of her hand before he tried to take it off his shirt. Mae released a low cry, though.

“It’s okay, Sweetheart,” he whispered, stroking his fingers over her short hair. “Daddy and Mommy are home. You are not alone.”

He knew that she couldn’t understand him, especially since she was asleep. She let go of his shirt nonetheless and Oliver just wanted to believe that it was because she knew her parents were there. There was nothing a parent needed to know more than that their kids knew they were not alone.

Slowly he left the nursery and walked back into the living room, kneeling down on the floor right next to Felicity’s head. He stroked his fingertips over her cheek, just watching her for a moment before he leaned forward and brushed his lips against her forehead between her eyebrows where the wrinkle had been before.

Felicity stirred, stretching her legs and releasing a sleepy sigh. She frowned before he eyes opened. Her pupils were small, the tiredness obvious in her facial expression.

“Hi,” Oliver whispered, his fingertips still moving over her cheek.

“Hey,” Felicity replied with a smile.

“I’m sorry for not hearing my phone. I thought it was in the pocket of my pants, but it was in my jacket. Then I forgot my watch and lost every sense for time. I haven’t even realized how late it had gotten. When I finally checked my phone, you were already here and…” He shrugged his shoulders, releasing a low sigh. “I’m sorry.”

Felicity smiled, reaching out her hand and moving her fingertips over his short stubble. Oliver kept her hand in place at the side of his face and snuggled his cheek into her touch, closing his eyes.

“Don’t worry. It’s alright,” she told him and yawned. “Curtis, Ray and I were already finished. We were just playing around with some algorithms, enjoying some time as nerds together, but it was nothing important.”

“Okay, that’s good.”

“Mae’s fine by the way. I don’t think she has caught anything serious,” she told him. “Laurel just didn’t know what to do because Mae was crying so much and then with the fever…”

“Yeah, I get that,” Oliver replied, nodding his head.

They smiled at each other for a long moment, nobody saying a word. Then Felicity leaned forward and captured his lips with his in a slow and gentle kiss. Oliver sighed at the soft feeling of her lips against his. He opened her lips to his and stroked his tongue against hers for a moment. The taste of her lips and tongue slowed down his heartbeat and calmed him deep down in his chest in a way only Felicity could.

He was about to deepen the kiss when Felicity pulled back, frowning at him slightly. She licked her lips, her frown deepening even more.

“Did you drink beer?”

Oliver’s heart skipped a beat before it started racing in his chest. He could hear the blood rushing in his ears. At the same time his breath got caught in his throat.

He hadn’t known about the party, so it wasn’t like he had lied to her about it. Sebastian had been the one lying to him about it actually. Oliver had willingly chosen to go into his apartment after he had found out about the party, though. He had drunk some beer and though it hadn’t been enough for him to get drunk, it had been enough to make him loose sense for time and make him forgot to check his phone for any messages from Laurel.

This would be much easier to explain if Felicity hadn’t had to leave her study group while he had still been partying. He felt guilty, terribly guilty even.

“We just had a beer after the studying.”

The moment the words were out of his mouth Oliver felt his stomach twist and turn painfully. He and Felicity had never lied to each other. It was actually the reason why their relationship worked so well because they were always honest with each other. After all the struggles during the pregnancy because of both of their insecurities, they had sworn to each other to always be honest about their feelings. So far they had always taken that to heart and it had helped them adjusting to their new life as parents.

It didn’t make sense that he started lying to her now! Yes, he felt guilty about not being available and being at a party instead of in a study group. There had been no way for him to know that it was going to be a party when he had headed out earlier tonight, though. It hadn’t been his fault there hadn’t been a study group. His fault was just going to that party and forgetting his phone in the jacket. He had made a mistake, a forgivable mistake actually. Right? It was forgivable.

So why the hell did he lie?

He was about to take the lie back, unsure about how to do that yet, when Felicity asked him, “So the evening was good?”

Oliver nodded. “I got to know a few people, so I guess it was just what I needed.”

“That’s great,” Felicity replied and yawned once more. “I think I will just sleep on the couch. I am too tired to get into bed.”

The last syllable had just escaped her lips when she yawned once more. Oliver pressed his lips together. Felicity looked terribly tired. Her eyes had almost fallen shut again while she had been speaking. Oliver knew he had to rectify his lie and tell her the truth, but she would probably be pissed at him for lying which made sense, so maybe he should delay this to tomorrow. A few hours more or less weren’t that bad, right?

“I’ll carry you to bed, okay?”

“My hero,” Felicity said, blindly reaching out her arms for him.

With a chuckle Oliver lifted her from the couch and into his arms. Her head rested against his shoulder, her arms wrapping around his neck loosely. Oliver kissed her forehead and carried her into their bathroom. As soon as he had laid her down on the mattress, he took a step back, slipped out of his clothes and slid into bed next to her. His hands reached out for her body immediately, pulling her close against him before pulling the blanket over both of them.

“Good night, Oliver,” Felicity whispered, her breath ghosting over his naked chest and leaving goosebumps there.

“Night, Felicity,” he whispered back and kissed her forehead. “I love you.”

Felicity’s response was a sleepy muttering of words he didn’t understand, but it made him smile sadly. He tightened his hold around her, kissing her forehead.

How quickly everything could change. A few hours ago he could have sworn that he wouldn’t be seen on any college party anytime soon because he loved Felicity and Mae and the life they had built. He still did. He still loved Felicity and Mae and their life together more than anything. He had liked the party too, though, and for some reason that scared him and he was sure it had to do with the fact that the party had caused him to lie to Felicity, something he had always sworn himself he would never do.

He would have to make this alright again. He would. It would be the first thing tomorrow.

  
  



	4. Chapter 4

One short glance at the watch on her nightstand and Felicity jumped out of bed. “Frack!”

“What- what happened?” Oliver asked with from sleep still husky voice, sitting up in bed all of a sudden and looking from one side to the other with tired and confused eyes, probably no idea what had Felicity cursing this early in the morning. “What’s going on?”

“We overslept. I must have forgotten to switch on the alarm yesterday,” she said. “Frack, frack, frack!”

While Felicity quickly put on the first clothes she could find, not even caring that it wasn’t her shirt she was grabbing from the floor, Oliver let himself fall back into the pillow with a groan.

“Can’t you just skip the first class?”

“No,” Felicity replied.

What was Oliver thinking? Skipping classes? What people did that? Okay, he did every once in awhile, but she didn’t. She never had skipped a class and she would never do it in the future. When she had been younger, she had even pretended not to be sick, so her mother would let her go to school instead of keeping her at home and most times it had worked. Spending all day in bed and watching TV instead of going to school and learning something had been her worst nightmare.

“Can you drop Mae at Lyla’s later?” Felicity asked. “I need to make a run for the bus and I will miss it and come late to class if I-“

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Oliver replied, waving distantly, before he put his arm over his eyes. “Just let me get back to sleep for a few minutes.”

Felicity chuckled. Hopping up and down on one foot to get her other one into her shoe, she moved around the bed to Oliver’s side. She leaned down and pecked his lips shortly before she stated, “You’ve been out for too long yesterday.”

She had already turned around to head out of the door when Oliver sat back up quickly and held onto her hand, holding her back. “Felicity?”

She turned back. Oliver was looking at her with a crumpled face that didn’t just come from sleep. He looked slightly uncomfortable, hesitation obvious in his face. He moved his hand through his hair, sucking in a deep breath. The last time he had looked at her like that when he had messed with her tablet and gotten a virus onto it. It had taken her several hours to fix the tablet and retrieve the data. She got still a little mad at him whenever she thought about that, but Oliver usually found good ways to make it up to her.

“Whatever it is, can we please talk about it later because my bus and my class and… I really need to go,” she added in a whisper.

Oliver hesitated, almost like he was going to say that he needed to talk about it now, but then he smiled halfheartedly and shrugged his shoulders. “Okay, then later.”

“You are the best boyfriend ever,” Felicity replied, kissing his lips after each word.

When their lips met after the last one, Oliver put his hand to the back of her head and kept her to him. He deepened the kiss, stroking his tongue against hers. Felicity sighed into his mouth, her right hand grabbing his wrist. She could feel his pulse against her fingertips and grazed his bottom lip with her teeth in response. She was so tempted to just melt against him and let him seduce her into staying here for just a few minutes more, but she was late as it was. Groaning lowly, she put a hand to his shoulder and pushed away from him.

“I need to go,” she whispered. She pecked his lips only once more before she turned around and ran out of the door, calling back over her shoulder, “I love you!”

For the second time in only a couple of days she was running for the bus, but thanks to the intense workout Oliver put her through some nights when Mae was fast asleep and they felt like enjoying some quality time as a young and still madly in love couple she caught the bus at the last second. She was breathing heavily and her heart was racing in her chest, but she was going to be on time for her class and that was all that really mattered Felicity decided when she slumped down on one of the empty seats.

She leaned her head against the cold window of the bus and closed her eyes. She shouldn’t be this tired after the many hours of sleep she had caught last night. After she had managed to calm Mae down, they had fallen asleep on the couch together. Felicity hadn’t even realized that Oliver had taken Mae to bed when he had come home. She had only woken up when he had kissed her and she had fallen back asleep as soon as her head had hit the pillow after he had carried her to bed. It didn’t happen too often that she got to sleep this long and this well, so there really was no reason for her to be tired.

When the bus stopped at the edge of the campus, Felicity grabbed her backpack and dismounted the bus. Ray and Curtis were already waiting for her like they usually did. She approached them, a tired smile on her lips.

Ray looked up from his phone, cocking his head. “You look like you… I don’t know…”

“Had a wild quickie with your super hot boyfriend before you came here?” Curtis offered, looking her up and down. “It would also explain the fact you are wearing a shirt that doesn’t look like it’s your size and… you are wearing it inside out.”

Felicity bit down on her bottom lip and looked down on herself, finding that what Curtis had said was actually true. She quickly reached into her backpack, pulling out the phone. With the selfie-camera she took a look at her face and groaned. Her hair was tousled and wrinkles were showing on her face where it had been crumpled from the pillow.

“I forgot to set the alarm and had to run for the bus,” Felicity explained, combing her hair with her fingers since that was the only thing she could do to look a little less like she had just had a quickie – she wished she had because it would have been a lot more fun than the run for the bus – as Curtis had put it so perfectly. “I didn’t even have time to take a look into the mirror.”

“Everything alright at home?” Curtis asked. “You had to leave so suddenly yesterday-“

“Mae’s fine and Oliver just forgot his phone in the pocket of his jacket, so he didn’t see that Laurel called him,” Felicity replied. She moved her fingers over the soft and slightly darkened skin under her eyes and then pushed her phone into the pocket of her jeans. “When she called me, it sounded a lot more dramatic than it actually was. We were already at the fun part of the evening, so it wasn’t that bad that I left, right?”

“No, of course not,” Ray replied hurriedly. “We just sat together for some more time and talked. You didn’t miss out on any hacking fun.”

“We would never hack without you,” Curtis promised her, putting his hand to his heart.

Felicity chuckled. “I hope so. Otherwise I would have to hurt you.”

“And we know that you can,” Ray replied, nodding for them to head towards the classroom and they did.

“We just wondered if maybe it was easier for you if we met at your place the next time,” Curtis told her. “You wouldn’t need a babysitter and if anything was wrong with Mae, you’d be right there.”

Felicity bit down on her bottom lip, looking at her two friends. “Are you sure?”

“Of course,” Ray replied. “Why not?”

“Well, Mae can be quite demanding if she can’t sleep. I don’t want you to blame me for the headache you might get if she has a hard time falling asleep,” Felicity replied. “I could swear there are nights that I feel like I am deaf until she feels asleep.”

Her little sunshine of a daughter really was easy to handle most of the times, but she also knew that she could turn into everyone’s nightmare if she was feeling uncomfortable or unhappy. It was the main reason why Felicity didn’t blame Laurel for calling her to come back home last night. Felicity would rather take care of Mae herself than hear that someone else had tried to rock the baby back into sleep for two hours before she had calmed down. She turned into mama bear with things like that.

Curtis shrugged his shoulders. “Let’s just test it that way.”

“Sounds great,” Felicity replied. “Since Oliver’s study group is on Wednesdays too, I thought we should reschedule, but if meeting at my place works, I guess we don’t have to.”

“And you two will have the other six evenings of the week together,” Curtis said. Felicity was sure that he tried to say it just to himself, but she didn’t miss his whispered words when he said, “I know that I wouldn’t want to spend more than one evening without a hottie like that.”

Felicity pressed her lips together and pulled them into her mouth, suppressing an amused smile. Since Curtis had seen a photo of Oliver for the first time, he was kind of hitting on him from afar. Felicity knew that Curtis was in a happy relationship with Paul, but obviously it didn’t keep him from having a giant crush on Oliver. Felicity hadn’t been able to bring herself to tell him that there was just no chance Oliver was going to reciprocate Curtis’ crush. He was just not Oliver’s type.

When Ray continued to stay silent on their way to their first class, just hissing some words to his phone while typing wildly, Felicity took a close look at his face. It seemed like she wasn’t the only one who was tired.

“Everything alright?” Felicity asked him, but her friend seemed like he hadn’t heard her. His fingers were still moving over the keyboard furiously, his lips moving in a quiet whisper. “Ray?”

“Hm?” He quickly looked up from his phone, looking at her with confused eyes. “What?”

Felicity huffed a breathy laugh. “I just asked if everything is alright. You seem a little… distracted.”

Ray released a sound, somewhat between a sigh and a groan. “Anna broke up with me.”

“She what?” Felicity asked surprised, her eyes widening. “I thought you wanted to propose to her during your anniversary next month.”

“That was the plan,” Ray replied, shrugging his shoulders, “but it seems like she needs some time to find herself.”

Curtis snorted. “That’s a lame excuse.”

“Well, I understand the need for some room and time to find oneself every once in awhile. I just don’t understand why it needs a breakup to do so,” Felicity explained. “Like why can’t she find herself while she is in a relationship?”

Ray shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know and I actually don’t want to talk about it.”

Felicity nodded, thinking about what she should say, when she realized that it was Thursday which meant her day started with the most boring class of the semester. She groaned and mumbled to herself, “I should have stayed in bed.”

 

 

“And that’s what you should think about before we see each other next week,” Professor Stein said, gesturing for his students to pack in their stuff and head home.

Oliver shot a glance at his watch. Felicity had one more class than him on Thursdays. That way he could pick Mae up from Lyla now and take a bus to MIT, so he could wait for Felicity there. All day he had been beating himself up for lying to her yesterday and then taking the chance to chicken out of telling her the truth this morning. He needed to tell her the truth as soon as possible, the sooner the better.

This was the first time he had lied to Felicity and he hated it. He was sure this experience was enough to never again make him do it. He regretted lying. He regretted not telling her the truth right after he had lied. He regretted chickening out of telling her again this morning. It had been stupid and he had only gotten himself even deeper into this mess.

Shaking his head, Oliver took his bag and was about to head out of class when-

“Mr. Queen, one second please?”

Oliver stopped and turned around to Professor Stein, who was standing behind his desk, looking at him with a smile. Oliver only hesitated shortly before he walked over to the professor, pushing his hands in the pockets of his jeans and slightly hunching his shoulders.

“Professor Stein?” he asked uncomfortably.

Oliver wasn’t good with teachers. Most teachers at high school hadn’t seen more in him than the spoiled rich boy and captain of the football team. Admittedly, that was what Oliver had been, but that hadn’t exactly made him stupid. He had been lazy, but not stupid. It had just taken for Felicity to step into his life and show that to him before he had been able to fully realize that.

“Is everything alright with you?” Professor Stein asked. “You seemed distracted today. That was certainly a loss for the class and our discussion. Your contribution is unconventional at times, but that’s surely a part of critical thinking. Today you didn’t say a word.”

Oliver scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah… sorry… I… Today’s just not my day.”

Professor Stein nodded, watching his closely. His gaze didn’t burn too deep under his skin, though. It didn’t make him feel uncomfortable. The professor sat down at the edge of the desk, facing Oliver.

“Anything the advice of an old man could help with?”

Oliver frowned. Since Professor Stein’s class had started, he had never taken him to be the kind of teacher that cared about more than his students’ achievements. He wasn’t exactly cold-hearted or anything. He actually seemed kind of warm which seemed to be mostly because of his smile, but Oliver really hadn’t seen this guy being interested in the people behind the essays they needed to submit once a week. He had thought he was just as distant as all the other teachers he had in high school.

“I know I am just your teacher, but I think the worst of classes are those that don’t make you learn anything you need for your life,” Professor Stein said, probably realizing Oliver’s hesitation. “If you don’t learn anything for your life in a class, leave it. It’s my honest advice. It’s just wasted lifetime. I admit that class is over now, but… let’s pretend our conversation here is still part of it. What would we have to talk about for you to learn something for your life that would help you?”

Now he felt a little bit like he was in an oral exam Oliver realized. He dug his hands a little deeper into the pockets of his pants and shrugged his shoulders. “I just… I made a mistake and… I feel bad about it and I need to fix it.”

Professor Stein nodded slowly. “What kind of mistake?”

Oliver sighed. “I lied to my girlfriend about something, and I actually think the lie was completely unnecessary because now she really has a reason to be angry at me, a lot more than she would have without the lie. I don’t even know why I lied. I just… I was just… I don’t know.”

“A lot of young college students struggle with who they are when they get here. College is a new start for a lot of them which is good, but it can turn into a problem when the person they thought they were before and the person they think they are now differ too much from each other or when the person others see in them differs too much from the person they see in themselves. The process of finding yourself usually starts with losing yourself at first.”

Oliver nodded slowly. What Professor Stein said made sense. He just wasn’t sure how that related to his situation.

“I… uhm… okay…” Oliver said slowly, frowning slightly. “I guess I just changed a lot during the last months and I… I just need to figure out how I can make things work… or something.”

Professor Stein just looked at Oliver like he was waiting to say something more. Yes, it really felt like he was in an oral exam now.

“I mean… I changed a lot and I guess a lot of people don’t want to see that and… of course there are things about my old life that I miss sometimes, but… I think I found kind of the right people now. They just do things that I am not sure I can reconcile with my life and… I just don’t know.”

Professor Stein nodded shortly before he opened his leather briefcase and handed Oliver a book. “This is the  _ Odyssey _ . It’s an interesting story. I am not going to tell you what it’s about and leave that for you to figure it out. Just read it and think about it. Maybe you will find something that you can relate to and find a solution for your situation.”

Oliver took the book, looking at the battered book cover. He wasn’t much of a reader, but if Professor Stein thought that this was going to help him, then he would read it though he actually doubted that he would understand much of it. So far he hadn’t understood a single text of those Professor Stein had recommended.

“Thank you.”

Professor Stein nodded, smiling slightly amused about the expression on Oliver’s face. “I hope your problems will be solved soon.”

“Yeah… so do I…”

His eyes still focused on the cover of the book, Oliver turned around and headed towards the door. He wasn’t really good with literature. Interpreting old texts that he barely understood a word of really wasn’t something he was good at. The only reason he had managed to get through his English class in school had been because he had been quite good at researching such things on the web if it had been absolutely necessary.

Strolling through the hallway towards the exit, he opened the book and read the first sentence.

_ Tell me, O Muse, of the man of many devices, who wandered full many ways after he had sacked the sacred citadel of Troy. _

“That’s great,” Oliver mumbled to himself with a shake of his head and pushed the book into his bag. “This will take probably months for me to read.”

He really didn’t see how a book was going to help him unless it was a book that told him how to tell your girlfriend that you lied to her and how to earn her forgiveness for it, especially not a book that covered the time around the battle of Troy. Oliver shook his head. He was just going to head home, get Mae and pick up Felicity from MIT. He just needed to get over with telling her the truth.

He had just taken the first steps out of the building when-

“Ollie!”

Oliver turned his head to the side where the voice had come from and saw Sebastian standing at the bottom of the stairs with some friends, waving at him to come join them. When Oliver just gestured towards the bus stop – he really needed to go – Sebastian quickly excused himself to his friends and followed Oliver in a quick run.

“Hey,” he said as soon as he had caught up with him, walking next to him. “We didn’t get the chance to talk yesterday. You were suddenly gone.”

“I needed to go home. Something was wrong with Mae.”

“Nothing bad I hope,” Sebastian said.

“No, Felicity had everything under control when I arrived home,” Oliver explained. “Her stepsister just wasn’t used to Mae being so whiney, but she is teething and she might have caught a little infection. It sounds a lot worse than it actually is, though.”

“That’s good. I guess everything is okay then?”

Oliver stood still and turned around to Sebastian, only now facing him.

“Okay?” he asked, perking up his eyebrows. “No, it’s not okay. Fact is that I should have been home when something like this happens, but instead I was partying. I didn’t have my phone close, so I just continued partying while my girlfriend came home from her actual study group. I don’t think that’s okay.”

Oliver felt the anger that had bottled up inside of him suddenly breaking out of him. Sebastian just stared at him with wide eyes and Oliver sucked in a deep breath. Letting this out on Sebastian wasn’t fair. He had only tried to help him by inviting him to the party. Oliver still might not agree that it had been necessary or okay that Sebastian had lied to him, but that didn’t mean that all of the rest that had happened had been Sebastian’s fault. Oliver had decided to go to the party. He hadn’t taken care to have his phone close. He had drunken the beer and lost his sense of time. He had screwed up.

“I am sorry,” Oliver eventually said, moving his fingers through his hair and releasing a deep sigh. He shook his head and screwed his eyes shut for a moment before he looked back at Sebastian. “I am really sorry. This isn’t your fault and I shouldn’t have taken this out on you. I am just mad at myself because I wasn’t there and…”

He really wasn’t lucky with friends Oliver realized. It had taken him forever to get to know people and now that he finally did know some people, people who might actually become friends, he was chasing them away because he had messed up.

“Did you have fun?” Sebastian asked.

Oliver sighed. “I guess we both know that wasn’t the problem.”

“Then you just come to the next party and make sure to be available in case something is wrong this time,” Sebastian suggested, but Oliver shook his head.

“Don’t get me wrong. I am very grateful that you decided to invite me to your party. I had a lot of fun and the people were actually kind of nice. You are right about Carter. He is arrogant, but kind of a good guy,” Oliver explained, suppressing a wide grin at the thought of the hate he and Carter shared for Max Fuller. “The thing is that I can’t come to another party. As much fun as it was, it’s not the life I have anymore. I am a father and I… I can’t stay away so long at night and party. I just can’t.”

He really couldn’t. He was a father now. He had responsibility for a little child.

“You made one mistake,” Sebastian said. “It can’t be too bad.”

“I don’t think you really understand what it means to have a family,” Oliver mumbled to himself but sighed. “I need to go now to talk to Felicity. I didn’t tell her that there was no study group but actually a party.”

“And continue not telling her is not an option?” Sebastian asked, cocking his head. When Oliver gave him a looked, he quickly lifted his hands. “Okay, that’s absolutely your decision, man. I was just looking for the easiest way out.”

Oliver hated lying to Felicity already and it hadn’t even been 24 hours. He wouldn’t even be able to keep up this lie for another day without having to swallow a handful of pills against the stomach cramps. Lying to Felicity wasn’t the easier option and even if it was, he wouldn’t do it. It just wasn’t the right thing to do.

“I know you are beating yourself up for what went wrong, but you really should come to the next party again, you know?” Sebastian said. “Like you said yourself, you had fun. Just because you made that mistake once, doesn’t mean that you will do it again. Besides, it’s just a party and some beer, nothing to blame yourself for.”

Oliver wasn’t so sure about that, but he kept that to himself. He was already relieved that Sebastian didn’t write him off for being a dad. He didn’t expect him to really understand him and his thoughts.

Sebastian sighed. “Did you have fun at the party yesterday?”

“Yes, but-“

“Did you find friends at the party?”

“Probably, but-“

“Do you think that there is a way for you to go to a party and still be available in case your family needs you?”

“Yes, but-“

“Could you at least consider coming to the next party and just give it another try?” Sebastian asked. When Oliver hesitated to answer, he sighed. “You said it yourself, the last party was fun and you can do better with your family. Just give it another try. I am sure you will do better the next time around.”

Oliver sighed. “I… don’t know yet.”

“Just think about it. Next Wednesday, same time and probably same place. I’ll text you if something changes,” Sebastian said, lifted his hand for a gesture to say goodbye and turned around to leave.

Oliver sucked in a deep breath and screwed his eyes shut. Whether he was or wasn’t going to another party really wasn’t the important question here right now. He was going to think about what to do with his new friends and their evening activities that didn’t work that well with his family responsibilities after he had told Felicity the truth and solved the problems it was probably going to elicit between them. Making sure they got through this was his priority right now. Nothing was more important than Felicity and Mae.

Straightening his shoulders, he turned around to continue his way to the bus stop. He didn’t even get to take a single step, though. The moment he turned around he found Felicity standing right in front of him, pushing Mae’s stroller up and down with one arm. She cocked her head and perked up an eyebrow.

“What party?”

 

 

She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop. When her last two classes had been cancelled, she had decided to just use the time to pick up Mae from Lyla’s and surprise Oliver here, thinking maybe they would use the good weather and take a walk back home. As soon as she had seen him here, she had approached him. Then Sebastian had mentioned something about a party yesterday and whatever words had been on her lips had gotten caught in her throat.

Oliver’s eyes were slightly widened as he took her in. She had definitely succeeded to surprise him though she was kind of sure it wasn’t the surprise she had had in mind. When Felicity angled her head just a little more, wordlessly demanding an answer, he quickly put on a smile that just like the smile this morning didn’t reach his eyes.

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

“My last two classes were cancelled and I thought I’d surprise you,” Felicity replied quickly. “What party?”

Oliver pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans uncomfortably. “There was no study group yesterday. It was a party.”

Felicity shouldn’t be so taken aback by the answer. From the little bit of the conversation between Oliver and Sebastian that she had heard, she should have already understood that there had been a party yesterday. Yet hearing these words from Oliver still stung unexpectedly.

Their life together was all but easy. They had their issues and being teenagers parents and going to college and living far away from home still was very exhausting and nerve-wracking at times. The fact that they were in a happy and stable relationship that had only grown since Mae had been born had helped them with that, though. Having each other, holding onto and leaning on each other had helped them with that.

At least until now she had believed that.

“Okay, let me please explain it,” Oliver asked.

He held his hands out in front of him like he wanted to hold onto her shoulders and keep her from leaving. She was sure that he had seen in her eyes that she had really wanted to leave. He knew that when she felt overwhelmed, often her first instinct was to run away. This urge had become less intense over the last months, but it was still there.

“As long as you can talk and walk at the same time, fine,” Felicity replied with a grumble, turned around and started pushing the stroller into the direction she had come from.

She didn’t even wait to see if Oliver followed her, but it only took the beat of a second before she could see him next to her from the corner of her eye. She was walking quickly, the urge to move a result of her anger in this moment.

“I thought you wanted to explain,” Felicity stated without even shooting Oliver a glance when he stayed silent for some long minutes. “You should maybe start now because the way back home is not that long and I am not sure you will still get a chance to explain this when we are home.”

“I didn’t know it was a party until I was there,” Oliver started explaining immediately. “Sebastian told me it was a study group, but when I got to his apartment there was a party going on. Somehow he convinced me to stay. I… I really just wanted to stay for an hour and not even drink anything, but one thing led to the other. I met Carter Bowen, who seems to hate Max Fuller as much as I do, and somehow I got sucked up into the whole thing and forgot about time or whatever. I know I shouldn’t have gone there. I should have left the second I realized-“

Felicity stood still, turning around to him with so much swing that her ponytail hit Oliver right in the face. She looked at him with a deep frown and narrowed eyes. Oliver pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans in response, hunching his shoulders a little.

“What exactly do you think you did wrong?” Felicity asked him.

“I-“ Oliver started but hesitated. She could see his hand moving in the pocket of his pants, telling her that he was probably rubbing his thumb against the other fingers. It was a nervous tick of his, one she had seen on him often, but it had been awhile since the last time she saw him use it. “I… uhm… I shouldn’t have gone in that party and… I should have been available and…”

“Oliver, you don’t need my allowance to go to parties or whatever,” she told him, the anger still not leaving her voice. “You can do whatever you want.”

It was true, at least mostly. Of course he couldn’t do everything he wanted because in case what he wanted was other women for example she would be out. Since she didn’t really believe that that was the case, he could maybe do whatever he wanted after all. Anyway, what mattered was that he didn’t need her allowance. Whether he wanted to spend his evening studying or partying was his choice. She wasn’t going to keep him from doing what he wanted to do. She just wanted him to be honest with her.

The fact that they arranged their plans with each other was not about keeping control about each other’s life. It was about making sure that things with Mae worked. They made plans, talked about them and if any problems occurred, they found solutions together like they had when their plans for last night hadn’t worked together and they had needed to find a babysitter.

“I am mad because you lied to me,” Felicity told him. “You could have just come home and when I asked you about the beer on your breath, you could have just told me the story that you just told me now. Instead you lied to my face about it. Like what did you think I was going to do? Behead you? For what?”

Oliver pressed his lips together, shrugging his shoulders slightly. “Not being available?”

“God, Oliver, something like that can happen to everyone. That is so no reason to lie to me that is just so much worse.”

Fine, he hadn’t been available, so? Nothing had happened. Even if neither of them would have been available, nothing would have happened to Mae because she had been in good hands with Laurel. Sure, it would have been better if he had been available, but he hadn’t forgotten his phone on purpose. He had made a mistake. They all made mistakes every once in awhile.

Did he really trust her so little that he thought she was going to pack her things and leave him because he had made a mistake? Did he trust their relationship so little?

“I’m sorry,” Oliver said quietly, looking at her with eyes full of regret.

“Doesn’t make it better right now,” Felicity replied.

Oliver nodded slowly. He looked down on the floor, only looking up to shoot her short glances every once in awhile. They both stayed silent, not saying word. The silence was only occasionally interrupted from the quiet sounds Mae made when she started to wake up.

Sucking in a deep breath, Oliver looked up at her eventually. “Can you say anything please?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders. “That you can forgive me?”

“Of course I can,” Felicity replied. She saw the spark of hope in Oliver’s eyes and added, “Right now I am still too angry to do so, though.”

Again Oliver nodded, lowering his head and looking at the ground for a long moment. He took in a long breath before he asked, “Do you need some air?”

Felicity bit down on her tongue firmly. That question had turned into their code for asking if the other needed some time for oneself though they hadn’t really needed it often. It had been a long time since they had really fought about something else other than the TV program or something meaningless.

“Meet me back at home in three hours?” Felicity asked.

Oliver nodded. “I’ll bring take-out.”

“I wouldn’t bet that I get one bit of it down, but sure.”

They looked at each other for a moment longer, wordlessly agreeing that they just needed time to clear their heads before they would talk about this and work through this. This wasn’t a breakup or anything close. This was making sure that they wouldn’t say things they didn’t mean and couldn’t take back or just got deeper into this struggle without wanting that. This was about taking some time for themselves to make up their mind and meet with cleared head, ready to talk things out. They had discovered that sometimes that was the best way for them to make sure they got through struggles, just taking some hours for themselves before meeting again after the first shock, anger, disappointment or whatever had passed.

Oliver gave her a short nod of his head, telling her that he was on the same page with this, so Felicity turned around and went away. 


	5. Chapter 5

His back was strained. His shoulders and neck were so tense that the pain actually reached into his head. It was so strong that he almost felt blinded and deafened by it. Everything seemed to revolve around the pain. His arms felt like they were going to give out any second and the knuckles of his hands hurt so badly that he wouldn’t be surprised if his fingers would just fall off when he was trying to get his hands out of the boxing gloves.

“You need a break, man?”

“No,” Oliver replied between clenched jaws, his movements growing even quicker and his punches even firmer.

The last he wanted now was a break. After he and Felicity had decided to part ways for three hours, he had thought about just going home and waiting for these few hours to pass there. Once he had sat down in the bus, he had felt his restlessness increase with every second, so he had called John and asked him to meet him at the gym. As soon as they had entered the training mats, Oliver had started punching the punch pads on John’s hands and he hadn’t stopped ever since. All the bottled up frustration and anger about his lie broke its way out of him.

He shouldn’t have lied. He knew that and he had known that even before he had seen the disappointment and anger in Felicity’s eyes. He had wanted to tell her, but of course she had to find out under the worst circumstances possible. Now she probably thought that he hadn’t wanted to tell her and had only felt forced to do so because she had overheard the conversation between him and Sebastian.

Why couldn’t things between them be the normal kind of complicated? Why did life always make it even harder for them?

The lie had been his fault. He was the only one to blame for that. Oliver didn’t want to deny that. He just felt like if life had been a little bit easier on them and he would have gotten the chance to tell her himself, they would have been able to solve this more easily. Oliver had the bad feeling that now it might take longer and it was just his fault. He shouldn’t have chickened out of telling her this morning even if Felicity had been late for her class then. She had complained about her first class on Thursdays since the first time she had been in that class. It was some intro class that didn’t teach her anything new. She wouldn’t have missed anything important if he had asked her to stay at home, so he could have explained what had happened.

“Fuck!” Oliver yelled, hitting his glove-covered fist against the punch pad that was attached to John’s right hand one last time, before he turned around and took a few steps away.

He opened the hook and loop fastener of his right glove with his teeth and chucked it on the floor. He ripped off the other glove too and let it follow the first one immediately. His hands were shaking when he wiped the sweat away from his face. Breathing heavily, he sat down at one of the benches at the edge of the training mats, grabbed his towel from his bag and hid his face in the fabric. He didn’t even look up when he heard John approaching him slowly.

“You wanna talk about it?”

“I screwed up, okay?” Oliver answered into the fabric. “I was invited to a study group that turned out to be a party. I stayed nonetheless and had fun. Then my phone wasn’t in reach, so I didn’t realize Laurel needed help until Felicity was already home with Mae. Instead of telling her the truth I lied to her and then I didn’t make it right when I had the chance to, so she found out when she heard me talking to someone about it. Now of course she is mad and I don’t know what to do because I know I screwed up.”

“Hm,” John said.

Oliver frowned, looking up. “That is all you have to say to that? Hm?”

John grinned for a moment before he took a few sips from his water bottle and sat down on the bench next to Oliver. “Why did you lie to her?”

“I don’t know,” Oliver replied honestly, blotting his face dry and leaning back against the wall with a sigh. He stretched out his legs, crossing his ankles. “I think I was just worried that Felicity would think I was tired of being a dad or something like that. I… I love my family more than anything. Felicity and Madeleine… when it comes down to it, they are all I really need. I just… I just enjoyed spending one evening with other guys my age and just hang out together.”

He had let himself get carried away with the drinking and hadn’t checked his phone. It had been a mistake, but he knew he could do better. He could hang out with friends and still be a responsible dad that was available and got home as soon as possible when his family needed him. At least Oliver wanted to believe that.

“Do you think it’s wrong to spend evenings having fun and drinking a little when you’re a dad?” Oliver asked, looking at John. “I mean… I wasn’t drunk. I had like two glasses of beer… and… It’s really not about the alcohol. I don’t need that. I just need, just every once in awhile, like a night off and I know parents don’t get nights off. I don’t even mean it like that. I just-“

“I know what you mean,” John interrupted Oliver after awhile, huffing a breathy laugh. “Felicity’s really rubbing off on you with all the rambling, isn’t she?”

Oliver grinned. “Yeah… I might have realized something like that, too. I might have even realized it a few times already.”

John grinned for a moment longer before he got serious. “It’s okay to need an evening off every once in awhile. Being a dad doesn’t mean that your family has to be the only thing in your life. They should just be the most important one.”

“They are,” Oliver hurried to say. He moved his hands through his short hair. “I know it doesn’t look like it with what I did, but they are the most important thing for me. I don’t even remember what my life has been like before them and I don’t really want to remember either. I love them and I love my life with them.”

John nodded slowly. “That’s good because that proves that you can do both if you are really trying to do so. Now you just have to be honest with Felicity about it explain the whole thing to her.”

Oliver sucked in a deep breath, rubbing his fingers over his chest where he felt a weird stitch somewhere deep in his chest. A heavy feeling settled there when he released the air in his lungs with a low sigh. He frowned, looking back at John again.

“Do you think I can fix what happened?” Oliver asked, letting his fear out for the first time since he had lied to Felicity. “And that Felicity and I will be okay again?”

John took a breath and made a face before he shrugged his shoulders. “Hard to say.”

Oliver felt his stomach drop. He knew Felicity. He knew how scared she was of being abandoned. He had probably made her doubt that he would never leave her and he wasn’t sure that it was going to be easy to win her trust back.

John sighed, patting Oliver’s shoulder. “I have known Felicity and you for a while now and you seem to be a lot more mature than most other people your age. I guess you have to be given that you two are responsible for another little human being. Anyway, you have made it this far. You will manage to get through this and move on from it if you only put enough effort into it.”

“I don’t know,” Oliver replied in a whisper. “I… I don’t want her to think that I am backing off. It’s just that Sebastian and his friends are the first people that gave me a chance to be their friend and I think it would be good if I had friends, not just for me but also for my relationship with Felicity.”

“It’s important to have some balance,” John agreed. “Felicity has college and her friends there.”

“And I am happy that she does,” Oliver replied with a low sight. “And I also know that I have you and sports, but-“

“You need people your age,” John finished for him, nodding his head. “I absolutely agree.”

Oliver sighed, feeling at least a little bit relieved. If John agreed with the way Oliver was thinking, at least that meant that he wasn’t completely in the wrong. He had made a mistake, but the reasons for his behavior didn’t make him a complete ass or a bad father. That would be the worst someone could say about him. Once he had made the decision to be a dad, he had sworn himself to be a good one. He didn’t want his daughter to spend years wondering if he loved her like he had spent years doubting his father’s love for him. So far he had done his best to be the father Mae deserved and he hoped that despite some bumps in the road that would never change.

“The thing is that you and Felicity are quite young,” John added after a long moment. “I think that is as much trouble as your relationship, especially given the fact that you have become parents already, can take. It makes it all the more important that you lean on each other when there are struggles. You don’t need to know all the answers to what you want and what you need and how you can make it work yet. All you need is to be honest with each other and make sure that you get through this struggle together.”

These words felt weirdly familiar to him, Oliver realized. When Felicity had been insecure about their future during her pregnancy, he had often said something similar to her. They didn’t need all the answers because as long as they were together, they would always find a way. It would take time, but they would make it.

“You know, I had my doubts when Felicity told me we should move here,” Oliver explained after a moment. “I thought being away from my best friend Tommy and away from my parents, especially now that I feel kind of connected to my dad, it would only be more difficult for Felicity and me. In some way it is I guess, but I also think we have become good friends in the last months and for that I am very grateful. I didn’t know what I’d do without you.”

John smiled, patting Oliver’s shoulder once more. “I am always here if you need me.”

“Thanks,” Oliver replied, smiling at his more or less newly won friend.

“Lyla and I are always here for the both of you actually,” John explained. “If you need a night off from parenting and you need a babysitter or something, we’re here. I hope you know that.”

Oliver nodded, smiling. “Thank you, John.”

As much as Oliver felt that he needed friends in his age, he also knew that having someone like John, who was grown-up and a dad, was necessary for him too. John was probably the only friend who would really understand him. He knew what it felt like to be a dad and what struggles there were when you were a dad, so it really was a good thing.

At least now Oliver knew what he had to do. He had to really make up with Felicity, and then they would have to find a way to deal with the situation together. Together, Oliver thought and took in a deep breath, as it was always supposed to be.

 

Felicity walked up and down in Lyla’s living room hurriedly, rocking Mae up and down on her hip at the same time. The little girl was clinging to her mother, making sounds of dissatisfaction every once in awhile.

“I just don’t understand why he lied. I mean what did he think I was going to do?” Felicity asked, changing direction once more. “Does he think that I have so little understanding for him or for the fact that sometimes people just get carried away by a situation that he felt the only way to get out of it alive was to lie to me and-?”

“Okay, let’s give this cutie pie to me before she gets dizzy,” Laurel hurried to say and got up from the couch when Mae released a low cry. She lifted the baby from Felicity’s arms and kissed her niece’s cheek. “Did mommy’s nervous walking feel like riding a carousel? It certainly looked like it.”

Felicity watched Mae settle against Laurel’s chest, resting her head against her shoulder, when Laurel sat back down on the couch. When Andria crawled from Lyla’s lap and over the couch closer to Mae, playing with the younger girl’s feet, Mae giggled and turned on Laurel’s lap. She reached out her little arms and played with some strands of Andria’s curly hair. Felicity watched the two little girls and released a sigh, feeling her anger decreasing a little.

She slumped into the cushions of the couch between Laurel and Lyla. Only now she realized how tired her legs felt. Since she had arrived here, she had constantly walked up and down, unable to hold still, and she had talked the entire time, being too angry to keep quiet. She looked from Mae and Andria to Laurel and then to Lyla. Both her friends were looking at her already with slightly perked up eyebrows.

“Am I wrong?”

“No,” Laurel replied immediately.

“He shouldn’t have lied,” Lyla agreed.

Felicity took in a deep breath through her nose and released it through her lips. Closing her eyes, she leaned her head back against the headrest. More than an hour had passed already, and she was still angry at him.

When she felt Mae’s fingers on her shoulder, Felicity opened her eyes and turned her head. Her daughter was looking at her with her big blue eyes, her head now resting against Laurel’s shoulder again.

“Come here, Sweetie,” Felicity whispered, taking Mae from Laurel, so the little girl rested against her chest. She stroked her hand over her baby’s back, leaning her cheek against the top of Mae’s head. “You don’t like when mommy and daddy are fighting, do you? Well, guess what, line forms behind me.”

“I am sure Oliver isn’t happy about it either,” Laurel said quietly.

“He is in the gym with Johnny,” Lyla explained. “I am sure he is feeling bad about what happened.”

“Of course he is, but he could have known that he would feel miserable about it, so why do it in the first place?” Felicity asked with a frown.

“I am sure he had his reasons,” Laurel said, but when Felicity looked at her, she shrugged her shoulders and added, “whatever those were.”

Felicity sighed and kissed Mae’s temple. “I understand that Oliver isn’t actually the kind of guy to go to a study group. The only real study group has been the one we had when we were still keeping our relationship a secret and practiced a lot of bi-“

“That’s not made for a baby’s ears,” Laurel interrupted her, covering Andria’s ears with her hands.

“This isn’t even made for my ears,” Lyla added, taking a sip from her tea, “and I am an adult.”

Felicity smiled and sighed once more. “I am happy when he has friends and I don’t mind if they are partying instead of studying. Coding is fun for me and it’s just a lucky coincidence that it is a perfect opportunity for me to have fun and study at the same time. I understand if he doesn’t want to spend his free time studying too.”

They couldn’t all be the kind of nerds whose world revolved around college and studying. Well, a huge part of her life did but certainly not everything, Felicity thought with a look at Mae, who was lazily playing with the end of her mother’s ponytail. Most of her life revolved around Mae now and it was good that way. She knew it was the same for Oliver. He loved Mae more than anything else in his life.

It was why his lie made even less sense. Did he really think one mistake was going to make her question that he loved her or their daughter or the life they had together? Felicity sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. She felt like her head was spinning, always coming back to the same thoughts.

“Did Oliver and you ever talk about doing things just for yourselves?” Lyla asked. “Separately I mean?”

Felicity shrugged her shoulders. “I guess so. We both agreed to go to these study groups and Oliver is meeting John at the gym every once in awhile, so-“

“Okay, but if we look at it a little more strictly, that is college and health care,” Lyla explained. “Did you talk about going out and having fun? Together or separately I mean?”

“We went out to have dinner a few days ago,” Felicity said slowly, not exactly understanding where Lyla was actually going with this. “It was after he was invited to that study group. He suggested we take Mae and have dinner.”

Lyla smiled softly, pulling her legs up onto the couch and turning to Felicity. “But what about the two of you as a couple or the two of you as individuals?”

Felicity frowned slightly. “Well… we are a couple with a child.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t get to enjoy moments that focus on just the two of you as a young couple in love or as the individuals you still are,” Lyla replied. She put her cup of tea on the couch table and propped her head up onto her hand, looking at Felicity intensely. “I know that when you become a parent your first thought is that all your life has to revolve around you being a parent now, and I admit that a lot of it actually does. It’s supposed to be that way because you have responsibility for a human being that needs you. It doesn’t mean that you are no longer a person that’s in a relationship or that you are no longer an individual with your own interests and needs.”

Felicity nodded slowly. “I understand that and I agree with everything you just said, but…?”

She looked at her friend with a frown, wordlessly asking what exactly she was trying to tell her and how that was going to help with her current situation.

“If you never talked about this, is it possible that Oliver lied because he thought there is no such thing as taking time for himself?” Lyla asked, quickly putting a hand to Felicity’s and adding, “I am not saying that his lie should be excused and just waved off. I am just trying to find the reason behind the lie because that is actually what you will have to work on to get through this.”

Again Felicity nodded before she took in a breath and tried to figure out if Oliver really didn’t know that he could take time for himself, time to just have fun. Just because they were together and had a baby, they didn’t have to be together round about the clock. They might not be able to take as much time as other people their age could because of Mae, but they could take time for themselves. He should know that, right?

“I don’t know,” she said eventually, shrugging her shoulders. “He should know, but maybe he doesn’t?”

“Well, he fought for his place in your life during the pregnancy, didn’t he?” Laurel asked. “Maybe that is why he is hesitating to take space now.”

Felicity frowned. She knew that her abandonment issues hadn’t made it easy for Oliver. Before Mae had been born she had subconsciously always held the door open for herself to be able to leave quickly and without any problems if she wanted to. It was why she had kept her relationship with Oliver a secret even when everyone had known that she was pregnant. She had been so scared of being left that she had made sure the void Oliver would leave in her life wasn’t going to be too much for her to handle.

Since Mae had been born, she and Oliver have had long talks about that. She had needed him to understand why she had pushed him away for so long and how much she regretted it, not only because her own life had been so much easier if she had allowed herself to lean on him the way he had offered to her but also because he had missed so many chances of showing how serious he was about her and their baby because of it.

“Okay, let’s assume that it is that way,” Felicity said after a moment, “and that Oliver just didn’t want me to think that he is backing out just because he enjoyed an evening that he did something else than bury his nose in a book or change diapers, then why can’t he say that at least now? We promised to be honest with each other and to tell each other if something was bothering us.”

“Maybe you need to talk to Oliver and try figuring that out together,” Lyla suggested.

“Sometimes I wonder if maybe it would be better if we went back to Starling, you know?” Felicity asked.

“Maybe that is the solution,” Lyla replied, squeezing Felicity’s hand, “but whether or not it is, you have to find out by talking to Oliver.”

Felicity nodded, knowing Lyla was right. She had to talk to Oliver and they had to figure this out together because only together they could decide what to do.

“Would you be okay with that?” Laurel asked after a moment. “With moving back to Starling I mean?”

“I would,” Felicity replied without hesitation.

There would have been a time that she would have been less sure about it, but Oliver and Mae were the most important part of her life. Nothing was more important than their well being. If Oliver needed to go back home to be really happy and for their relationship to work, then they’d do it. She could happily go to several colleges, but there was only one dad for her daughter and only one boyfriend for her, so if Oliver wanted to leave Boston, she was right at his side.

“Thank you two.”

“Always,” Lyla replied.

“And you know if you ever need a babysitter, I never mind watching this little cupcake,” Laurel said, tickling the sole of Mae’s foot. The girl giggled, hiding her face against her mother’s shoulder and kicking her small feet.

Felicity shot her stepsister a look. “What about the promising date with Adrian? If you two-“

“Oh, there certainly isn’t going to happen anything between us,” Laurel explained, rolling her eyes.

Felicity smiled. “Well, I guess after you both listened to my problems, it’s time for you to tell us about your problems now.”

 

As soon as Oliver heard the key turning in the lock of their door, he hurried back to the small table he had set for them and lightened the candle. He held his breath while he was waiting for Felicity to enter the kitchen. He could hear her slipping out of her shoes and jacket and putting her purse away before she started walking closer. She wasn’t the only one looking surprised when she stepped into the small kitchen, though.

“Where’s Mae?” Oliver asked with a frown.

“Laurel took her, so we can talk without being interrupted. She is going to bring her back later,” Felicity replied, shooting him only a short glance before looking back at the table he had set. “What’s this?”

“The result of me being nervous.” Oliver said, scratching the back of his neck slightly uncomfortable.

His eyes followed Felicity’s gaze to the table. When he had come back home from the gym, he had sat in the kitchen and waited for Felicity to come back. It had taken his nervousness only ten minutes to drive him insane. He had decided to distract himself with an elaborated and slightly romantic table setting. If he wanted to make up with Felicity, the least he could do was put some effort into it.

Now that Felicity was here, he wondered if that had been a good idea, though. They needed to have a serious conversation and making this a romantic dinner might not have been his best idea. He cleared his throat, saying, “I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t have-“

“No, it’s fine,” Felicity hurried to say, smiling at him. “It’s really beautiful.”

Oliver took in a deep breath, feeling relieved. “Thanks. And this is not meant to distract from the conversation we are going to have because I know that we have to talk. I was just kind of got nervous and then I decided to set the table for our dinner to show you that I am still very much invested in this relationship, but I didn’t think about how this might look like I am distracting from our fight until just now when you-“

When Felicity chuckled lowly, Oliver fell silent, pressing his lips together.

“You babble,” she told him.

“Second time today already,” he replied, moving a hand through his hair.

“I am rubbing off on you,” Felicity told him with an amused smile.

“Not the first time I heard that today either.”

They smiled at each other for a long moment and Oliver felt the nervousness that had grown more and more the longer he had waited for Felicity to come home, slowly fade away, at least mostly. There was still a little nervousness left, knowing that they still had to talk. After this little banter and with the honest smile on Felicity’s lips, he felt more at ease than he had before, though.

Taking in a deep breath, Oliver took a step towards Felicity. He held out both of his hands for her with the palms of his hands upwards. She looked at them only for the break of a second before she put her own hands into his. He squeezed her hands gently and Felicity cocked her head in response.

“I wanted to apologize,” Oliver told. “I shouldn’t have lied and I didn’t mean for it to look like I am tired of being a dad or seeking a way out of our life together because I am not.”

“I know that, Oliver,” Felicity replied with a smile, squeezing his hands back. “You don’t have to worry about that. I wanted to apologize too by the way.”

“You don’t have anything to apologize for.”

“That might be debatable,” she responded and sighed. “I was quite angry.”

“Understandably.”

Felicity smiled at him for a moment longer. Then she straightened up onto the tip of her toes and kissed him gently. Her lips brushed against his for a moment before they pressed down a little more firmly. Oliver squeezed her hands and when their lips parted. Felicity nuzzled her nose with his before she pulled back and smiled at him.

“We should have dinner and talk now,” she suggested.

Oliver nodded, smiling with relief. He stepped behind the chair next to him, pulling it away from the table a little and gesturing for Felicity to sit down. He set it in place for her, explaining, “We have ciabatta with garlic cream sauce for supper and your favorite vegetable dish for entrée.”

Felicity perked up an eyebrow, turning her head back over her shoulder to look at him. “Vegetables on leavened dough and with a lot of melted cheese?”

“Is there another way you accept vegetables?” Oliver asked, knowing Felicity’s usual distaste for vegetables if they weren’t on a pizza.

“Absolutely not,” Felicity replied with a chuckle.

Smiling, Oliver kissed the top of her head before he turned around to the kitchen counter, grabbed the small breadbasket with the ciabatta and the small bowl with the garlic crème sauce. He put both of it to the table between them before he sat down at the opposite side of the table.

The both dipped one of the small ciabatta rolls in the garlic crème sauce before Oliver stated, “I had an interesting talk to John after we parted ways.”

Felicity chuckled. “Lyla and John are kind of our marriage counselors.”

“Even though we are not married, at least not yet,” Oliver replied, watching Felicity’s hand with the ciabatta still halfway to her mouth, her eyes focusing intently on his face. He chuckled. “Don’t worry. I am not going to propose to you now.”

“For a moment you got me worried here,” Felicity replied and pushed piece of the roll into her mouth. “You know that I love you, but marriage…”

“Just not yet,” Oliver agreed with a nod of his head, an amused smile playing on his lips.

He did want to get married to Felicity one day in the future. He knew that already. He also knew that neither of them were ready for that step yet. They were still young and there was still a lot for them to figure out. Besides, they had all the time in the world. He had suggested getting married when they had discovered that Felicity was pregnant, but it had been for the wrong reasons. When he proposed to her, it was going to be because he knew they were both ready for it.

“So what did John tell you?” Felicity asked after a moment, cocking her head.

“That I need to be honest with you, so we can figure out what to do together.”

Felicity smiled. “That sounds a lot like what Lyla told me.”

“They have to know how a good relationship works. They are living one.”

“They really do,” Felicity agreed, leaning forward. She folded her arms on the edge of the tabletop and cocked her head, asking him directly, “So why did you lie?”

“I got scared,” Oliver admitted without hesitation because he knew Felicity wanted to know the truth and he trusted her with it. “Partying feels like a part of my old life, the life I had before you stepped into the picture. I enjoyed the night and that is why I lost my sense of time and why I wasn’t available for Laurel and-“

Felicity shook her head. “Oliver, we all make mistakes and as long as we realize it and fix them, it’s not that big of a deal. All you had to do was telling me what happened and promise me that it won’t happen again because now you know that you have to keep an eye on your phone when you’re out.”

“It’s just that this is the first time I went back to that old lifestyle, even if only for a few hours,” Oliver continued, “and I messed up again. I felt the timing and the fact that these two things, partying again and me messing up, happening at the same time felt so bad that I…”

He sighed, moving a hand through his hair. He didn’t know how to say it the best way or actually how to say at all. Oliver had never been really good with words.

“I don’t want to sound like I am justifying my behavior or… trying to blame you,” he added carefully, his eyes focused on Felicity’s face to check her reaction.

She took in a deep breath, nodding her head. “It’s because I pushed you away in the pregnancy.”

Oliver already took in a breath to reply. He folded his lips over his teeth to stop himself, though. He reached out a hand for her on the tabletop and Felicity laced her fingers through his. He stroked his thumb over the knuckles of her hand gently, smiling at her with love.

“I know you are still scared of being abandoned,” he said quietly. “It has gotten better in the last months, but I know the fear is still there. When I screwed up with being unavailable yesterday, I got scared that you would think I am backing off. I know now that you don’t think that way and I know I shouldn’t have thought like this.”

Felicity pressed her lips together and lowered her eyes to their enlaced fingers. The right corner of her mouth was twitching like she was trying to smile, but her eyes looked so sad that even if she would have managed an actual smile, it wouldn’t have failed to hide what she really felt. He squeezed her fingers comfortingly and she looked up.

“I am sorry for what I put you through and-“

Oliver shook his head. “This isn’t your fault. It’s absolutely not, and I don’t want you to think it is, not even for a second. This isn’t your fault. It is my fault. I didn’t trust you, but I know I should have. I am really sorry, Felicity. Can you please forgive me?”

Felicity smiled through tears in her eyes, whispering, “Already forgiven.”

Oliver released a breath he hadn’t known he had been holding. He tugged at Felicity’s hand until she got up and took the few steps towards him. Oliver pulled her closer, so she ended up sitting sideways on his lap. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, her fingers gently playing with the short hair at the nape of his neck, while Oliver put his arms around her hips and stroked his hands over the small of her back.

When their lips met in a slow and gentle kiss, Oliver felt the worry and nervousness falling off of him completely. Now that he and Felicity were okay again, he knew everything was going to be alright. Their lips parted, but their foreheads rested against each others.

“I love you, Felicity,” Oliver whispered.

“I love you, too,” Felicity replied and brushed her lips against his once more.

They enjoyed a long moment of silence before they pulled apart. Oliver tightened his hold around her hips to keep her from getting up and settling back in her own chair, though. He wanted to have her close like this just a little bit longer.

“And now?” Oliver asked her. “What do we do now?”

Felicity smiled, continuing to stroke her fingers through Oliver’s hair. “Now we need to promise that we will be honest with each other from now on.”

“I promise you,” Oliver said.

“I promise you too,” Felicity replied and pecked his lips. “I guess what we need to do now is to make a plan.”

Oliver perked up his eyebrows. “A plan?”

“Yes, a plan.”

“Shoot.”

“You liked being at that party, right?”

It took Oliver a second to reply since he was taken aback by her question. For the break of a second he wanted to deny, but he knew better now. Only the truth was going to help them moving forward. His arms tightened around her before he nodded. “Yes.”

“Then I think you should continue going to parties,” Felicity told him. She put a hand to his cheek and gently stroked her fingers through the stubble he had started to grow at some point during the last months. He knew how much she loved it, and she loved that he loved it so much. “That is if you even want to stay here in Boston.”

Oliver straightened up as much as he could and pressed a kiss her jaw. “I know how much Boston means to you.”

“Boston really means nothing to me if living here drives us apart,” Felicity replied, shaking her head. “I know I always said I never wanted to be the kind of girl that threw away her dreams because of a guy, but I don’t feel like that is what I’d be doing. MIT isn’t my priority anymore. You and Mae are, and I think making sure that my daughter’s father is happy means a lot more to me than graduating from a certain college. Whether I study at MIT or some other college doesn’t matter to me anymore, at least not as much as it used to.”

Oliver felt his heart skipping a few beats, stumbling in his chest at her words. He knew that these words from Felicity meant a lot more than any  _ I love you  _ could. Felicity would make this ultimate sacrifice of quitting her dream for him to be happy. He ducked his head and kissed the top of her chest. He could feel her heart beating strongly against his lips and it made him smile. When he angled his head back to look at her once more, their eyes met and they smiled at each other.

“I’d like to give Boston another chance,” Oliver said honestly, “if that’s okay with you.”

“Of course it is.”

“I promise you I will do better this time,” Oliver said.

“I know you will,” Felicity replied and kissed his temple. “And I don’t want you to feel bad for wanting to go out to party.”

Oliver made a doubting sound. “I am still not exactly convinced that it’s a good idea to party, especially given who I was before I met you and the fact that I am a dad now.”

Felicity framed his face with her hands, angling his head back a little more to make him look at her. She kissed him shortly before she explained, “First of all, you have always been Oliver Queen.”

He chuckled. “Just two very different versions of him.”

“It’s so weird when you talk of yourself in the third person,” Felicity replied with an amused smile that made his heart warm for her even more. “Anyway, I want you to know that I know you think you were a completely different person before we got together, but the truth is that I never saw that. I mean I heard the rumors about you when my mom and I moved to Starling. I know that people said you liked to party a lot and had a lot of girls. I also know that because you told me it was true, but the truth is that I never saw that person in you. For me you have always been my Oliver, the person who always understood me and who has always supported me and respected my wishes.”

Oliver smiled, his stomach fluttering slightly. “Your Oliver has always been my favorite version of myself.”

Felicity leaned down and kissed him softly. “What’s even more important is that coding is kind of the nerdy version of a party, so if you blame yourself for wanting to party, you can blame me, too.”

God, he loved her so much, Oliver thought, releasing a breathy laugh.

“So if I asked you to come with me to a party…?”

Felicity made a face. “Please love me more than that.”

Oliver chuckled. “Fine, I am not asking you to, but I would have, you know?”

“I appreciate it, but no thanks.”

“Got the message,” Oliver replied. He leaned his face into the touch of Felicity’s hands that still rested on his cheeks. “Thanks for not giving up on me.”

“You never gave up on me,” Felicity told him with grateful voice.

“And I never will.”

“Neither will I,” she promised. “I hope you know that.”

“If I didn’t know before, at least I do now,” Oliver replied. “Thank you.”

“No reason to thank me,” Felicity told him and kissed his lips gently. “I was actually wondering if maybe you’d like to go back to Starling for a couple of days because I would like to see my mom and Quentin again. You could meet up with your parents and Tommy.”

Oliver’s smile widened. “That sounds great.”

“So we will see when there is time and go to Starling for a weekend or something.”

“Our parents will be so happy.”

“Mainly because they get to see Mae again of course.”

Oliver chuckled. “Yes, probably.”

He kept one arm around Felicity’s back, stroking his other hand up and down the outside of her thigh. She leaned down and captured his lips with hers. Her mouth opened, her tongue tracing her bottom lip. Sighing lowly, Oliver opened up to her. Their tongues met in a slow dance that had grown very familiar over the last months. When her teeth grazed his bottom lip, Oliver groaned, and he felt Felicity smiling against his lips in response.

Felicity parted their lips, licking her own when Oliver opened his eyes. She puckered her lips, her fingers playing with the topmost bottom of his henley shirt when she cocked her head.

“You know, Laurel is taking care of Mae a little longer,” she said, starting to unbutton his shirt.

Oliver grinned. “What about the pizza?”

“I am much hungrier for something else right now.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Felicity replied in a breathy whisper.

Oliver’s eyes took in her full lips, his tongue wetting his own. “Bedroom?”

She nodded quickly. “Yes, absolutely.”


	6. Chapter 6

Running up the stairs, Felicity fished for her keys out of her backpack. She almost ran into the door in her try to get into the apartment as quickly as possible. As soon as she had unlocked the door, she let her backpack fall to the floor next to the door. She kicked the door, but quickly caught the door handle before the door could fall shut with a loud bang. She didn’t want to wake Mae.

“I’m home!” she called in a whisper, quickly slipped out of her shoes and ran towards the living room. “I’m home! I’m home! I’m home! You can-“

She stopped abruptly when she stepped into the living room, almost slipping on her socks. She needed to hold onto the frame of the door to keep herself from ending up on her butt. The quick sprint upstairs had left her with a racing heart, heavy breathing and terrible stitches in the side. All of it made it quite hard for her brain to catch up on what she was seeing.

“Mommy is spreading turmoil,” Oliver said in a singsong, bouncing Mae up and down on his thighs and making a face at her that elicited an amused laughter from the little girl. “Do you want to tell mommy that there is no reason for her to spread turmoil or should I?”

Mae leaned her head back as far as possible, looking at her mother with her big, blue eyes. She squealed with delight. “Ba-ba-ba-ba!”

“Yeah, you tell mommy,” Oliver replied with a chuckle at their daughter’s babble. When she looked at him again, he kissed her rosy cheek and made smooching noises that made Mae squeal even louder. “What is she thinking, just coming in here and disrupting the quiet atmosphere, hm?”

When Oliver looked past Mae to grin at Felicity, she pushed her tongue into her cheek and cocked her head. Oliver only puckered his lips in response, making a cute face that made Felicity roll her eyes. Narrowing her eyes at him, she approached the couch and slumped into the cushions next to Oliver and Mae, releasing a low sigh because though her breathing was back to normal she still felt exhausted from the sprint. Immediately Mae reached out her little hands for her mother and Felicity took her baby girl from Oliver’s, holding her to him.

“Hi, Baby,” she said while Mae gripped onto Felicity’s shirt tightly to pull herself up in a standing position. At almost eight months now she loved pulling herself up into a stand whenever she got the chance to. “Weren’t you supposed to be in bed already, so daddy can head to his party and mommy can study with Ray and Curtis when they are coming here in a few minutes?”

Mae giggled like she had understood exactly that she was actually supposed to be in bed. She put her hands to Felicity’s cheeks and kissed her with her mouth open. As much progression as the little girl seemed to make with each day, her kisses stayed just as slobbery as ever. Well, if the spit Mae was leaving on her lips was her way of telling her mommy how much she loved her, Felicity would accept it gladly.

“Thank you, Sweetie,” Felicity said after Mae loosened her lips from hers, starting to play with the neckline of Felicity’s shirt. She quickly wiped the spit away from her mouth and looked at Oliver, who had quietly watched his two girls as he liked to call them. “Why haven’t you put her to bed yet? Is the party canceled?”

Oliver shook his head. “When you texted me that you were going to be late because of the traffic chaos, I texted Sebastian that I was going to join the party later. I figured we three could use one moment together. We didn’t have the chance to enjoy some quality family time all day.”

That being said Oliver pushed an arm under the back of Felicity’s knees and put the other arm around her shoulders, pulling her close until her legs rested over his thighs and Mae was sitting comfortably on Felicity’s thighs with her back resting against Oliver’s chest. Smiling, Felicity rested her head against Oliver’s shoulder and stroked her fingers through her daughter’s short hair.

Since their little fight or discussion or whatever to call it three weeks ago, things between them were running as smoothly as ever. Oliver was going out on a party once a week and spending time with his new friends during his free periods or whenever else there was time. Felicity knew it was doing him good and that was why it was doing her good and why ultimately it also did the two or rather the three of them good. For the first time Felicity felt like they had really settled in Boston.

When Oliver rested his lips against Felicity’s temple, she angled her head back and looked at him. Their eyes locked and Felicity lifted a hand to his cheek, moving her fingers through his short stubble. She felt her heart skipping a beat at the way he looked at her with that much love. There were so many movies about teenage love, but Felicity was sure none of it came close to what they had with each other. They might have their problems and they might stumble upon the way every once in awhile, but in the end they would always make it through and always find their way back to each other. Felicity was sure of that, no matter how the little voice in her head loved to tell her that they were still young and things could change.

The short moment of doubt seemed to have shown on her face before Oliver frowned. Smiling Felicity moved her fingers from his cheek to the back of his neck to tighten around a strand of hair. She pulled him down until his lips met hers in a gentle kiss. Her stomach fluttered contently and she sighed into the kiss, pulling Oliver’s bottom lip between both of hers. Just when she considered deepening the kiss, a third pair of lips joined into the kiss from the side.

Oliver and Felicity pulled apart with a chuckle. Madeleine was giggling so amusedly that she would have probably fallen off the couch if it wasn’t for Oliver’s hand quickly steadying her.

“Did you want to join in on the kiss?” Felicity asked, cocking her head at her daughter. Mae squealed, but it turned into a long yawn and she rubbed her little fists over her eyes. “Okay, someone needs to go to bed.”

“I’ll take care of that,” Oliver suggested.

Felicity got up with Mae snuggled up to her side. “Why don’t you prepare her bottle of milk and I will put on her pajamas?”

“Alright.”

Bouncing Mae up and down on her hip, Felicity walked towards her daughter’s nursery. When she lay the little girl down on the changing table, she lifted her feet and stuck them towards Felicity, giggling happily.

Felicity chuckled, shaking her head. “No, you are tired. We are not playing now. We are getting you changed for bed and then daddy will bring you your last bottle of milk and you will sleep.”

She took of Mae’s socks and tickled the soles of her little feet, making Mae laugh and kick her feet, before she took off Mae’s pants and reached for a fresh diaper. Mae took hold of her pajama pants and held it out for Felicity.

“Not yet,” Felicity replied. Mae released a dissatisfied whine. “Yeah, we can put on these pants, but first the diaper. You know that.”

She changed Mae’s diaper with a few well experienced movements. She remembered the first few times she had changed her little girl’s diaper and how nervous she had been when doing so. Mae had been so tiny and Felicity had felt like one wrong movement could make the baby fall apart. Hundreds of changed diapers later every movement was well practiced, no insecurities left.

Felicity was just helping Mae into her pajama top when there was a knock at the door. Gasping for breath dramatically and looking at her daughter with widened eyes, she said, “We are having guests. Who could visit us this late.”

“I’ll go!” Oliver called from the kitchen.

While she was tugging Mae’s pajamas into place, she heard Oliver’s, Ray’s and Curtis’ voices from the hallways. Felicity took her daughter’s hands and helped her to sit up on the changing table, asking, “Should we go and see who’s there and say hi?”

“Ba-ba.”

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Felicity replied with a chuckle.

She lifted Mae into her arm to carry her on her hip. Immediately the girl rested her head against her mother’s shoulder and played with the end of her ponytail. Bouncing the little girl up and down a little bit, she walked into the hallway. One short look at the three men or actually two of them in particular and Felicity stood still, cocking her head with a perked up eyebrow. It was the first time her friends met Oliver since he was usually heading out right before Ray and Curtis arrived here.

“I mean you really have to be training a lot. Those arms don’t come from nothing, right?” Curtis asked, exploring Oliver’s bicep with his hands. “So what’s your secret?”

“I guess I am really just training a lot,” Oliver replied with the slightest of uncertainty in his voice, shrugging his shoulders. “You can come with me to the gym one day soon if you’d like to.”

“Yeah, that would be cool. I am training every once in awhile, but it would be cool if-“

Felicity cleared her throat and immediately Curtis pulled his fingers back, looking at her with apologetic eyes though the wide grin on his face definitely betrayed him. He might be feeling guilty, but the joy that he had touched Oliver’s biceps as he had wanted for so long was too huge to hide.

“Hi, Felicity,” Ray said, suppressing a grin after watching the scene. His eyes drifted from Felicity’s face to the little girl on her hip. “And who’s still up so late?”

“Well, that’s my fault,” Oliver admitted. “I was supposed to put her to bed already, but…”

“Who could say no to such a sweet girl?” Curtis agreed.

Felicity came closer slowly, whispering to Mae, “Hey, Sweetie. Do you remember Ray and Curtis? You have met them before when you have been at MIT with mommy. Do you remember?”

Mae watched the two men with wide eyes, her head staying rested against Felicity’s shoulder. When Curtis reached out his hand to stroke the tip of his finger against the baby’s little hand, she lowered her gaze.

“She’s such a sweetheart,” Ray said.

“She really is though-“ Mae released a whiney cry and Felicity kissed the top of her head before she added, “though she is kind of tired.”

“Come on, Sweetie, daddy’s going to take you to bed now,” Oliver said, taking Mae from Felicity’s arms. He grabbed the bottle of milk from the kitchen counter and carried Mae to her nursery, whispering words to her.

“Make yourself at home in the living room,” Felicity suggested, gesturing towards the open door. “I’ll get us something to drink. Oh, and-“

“Don’t stumble over Mae’s toys,” Curtis and Ray said in chorus, chuckling lowly.

Felicity smiled, heading to the kitchen. It was really easy with Curtis and Ray. They made it so easy for her. They really were the best friends she could have wished for. Going to college while raising a baby was already hard, but she knew it was even harder when your friends didn’t make it easy for you.

She grabbed three glasses from the kitchen and took the bottle of ice tea, bringing all of it to the living room. Curtis and Ray had made themselves comfortable on the carpet around the couch table. Admittedly, they didn’t have the most room here, but neither of them every complained. It was just one more way that proved what great friends they were.

Felicity poured her friends some ice tea before she got her backpack from the hallway where she had left it when she had come home and eventually sat down between Ray and Curtis.

“God, your boyfriend feels even better than he looks,” Curtis whispered to her. “How do you ever make it out of bed?”

She cocked her head, looking at her friend over the rim of her glasses. “Curtis, what did I tell you to use as a mantra when you’re here?”

“I’m taken. He’s straight.”

Felicity nodded, patting Curtis shoulder. “Repeat it a few times until it sinks in.”

Curtis closed his eyes with a sigh and mumbled the two sentences to himself a few times. Ray and Felicity exchanged a short glance, grinning at each other.

“Okay, let’s start with the article we are supposed to read for Professor Johnson, should we?” Felicity suggested. Ray nodded, pulling his copy of the article already closer, but took a look at his phone and frowned angrily. Felicity pressed her lips together, cocking her head. “Something wrong?”

“It’s just Anna,” Ray replied.

Felicity shot him a comforting smile before she focused on the article at hand. She knew that Anna was something Ray didn’t want to talk about at all. Whenever she was brought up, it was the unsaid message for Curtis and her to not say a word about it. They accepted that.

Quietly they all started reading the article. It had turned into their routine. They started with the text work before they proceeded to do some coding exercises and finally decided to call it a day which meant that they gave up on the studying and spend some fun time playing around with some codes instead.

Felicity was halfway through the article when Oliver came into the living room, changed into some clothes Mae hadn’t drooled on yet. He put the baby monitor next to her on the table and Felicity smiled when she heard the quiet lullaby still being played.

“Mae is fast asleep, so you should be able to study without being disturbed,” Oliver told her. “I will head out now.”

“I am going to walk you to the door,” Felicity replied, getting up on her feet.

“Bye, guys. It was fun getting to know you,” Oliver said, lifting his hand to wave at them shortly, before he laced his fingers through Felicity’s.

“It was a pleasure getting to know you, too,” Curtis replied. “I will call you, so we can check when to make our plans to go to the gym. Felicity will certainly give me your number and-“

“I think you need to hurry if you want to catch the last bus,” Felicity interrupted Curtis, looking at Oliver, who frowned at her friend amusedly.

“Yeah, bye,” he repeated towards Ray and Curtis before Felicity tugged at his hand to pull him towards the door. Oliver looked back over his shoulder while they were going but frowned at her as soon as they stopped in front of the door. “I like your friends. Curtis is of a special kind.”

Felicity pressed her lips together, turning to Oliver and tangling their free fingers. When Oliver perked up an eyebrow at her, gesturing at her facial expressing with his chin, she cleared her throat before saying almost in a whisper, “He’s into you.”

“Hm?” Oliver asked, frowning at her.

She rolled her eyes with a sigh, stroking her hands up and down his strong biceps. “You are such a strong man, Oliver. How do you do that?”

Felicity could have pinpoint the second Oliver finally understood what she was trying to say. His eyes widened before he frowned again.

“Really?” he asked in a whisper.

Felicity chuckled. “Don’t worry. I already told him that you are taken and that I am going to take over all his social media accounts to embarrass him in front of everyone he knows and then destroy him until there is nothing left of him if he tries anything.”

“Wow.”

“I’m quite a vengeful person,” Felicity told him innocently.

Oliver smiled. “Good thing that there’s only you for me then.”

“Definitely better for all of our sakes,” Felicity replied before she straightened up onto the tip of her toes and kissed Oliver gently. He squeezed his hands while their lips were moving against each other’s slowly. When they broke the kiss, Felicity put her heels back onto the floor and smiled. “Have fun.”

“You, too,” Oliver replied. “And if anything should go wrong-“

“-which won’t happen-“

“-I have my phone right here,” Oliver explained, patting the pocket of his jeans.

“Good to know,” Felicity told him. “And now go and have fun.”

“Don’t wait for me,” Oliver suggested.

Felicity chuckled. “As soon as Ray and Curtis will leave, I will fall into bed and probably sleep before my head hits the pillow.”

“Are you going to take over the entire bed again like last week?”

“Of course.”

Oliver chuckled. “Fine. I will just sleep on top of you then.”

Felicity smiled and pecked his lips. “I’d like that.”

There was a glint in Oliver’s eyes that made Felicity’s heart stutter in her chest for a moment. She quickly opened the door and held it open for Oliver, nodding outside. Pecking her lips once more, Oliver walked past her and left. She closed the door with a quiet sigh, shaking her head before she headed back to the living room.

“Things between you and Oliver seem to be a lot better again,” Ray said when Felicity sat back down on the carpet.

Felicity smiled at her friends, nodding her head. “Yeah, they are. I have to admit that I was a little wary about this whole thing at the beginning, but it’s really good for the both of us. Oliver is happy and that makes me happy.”

Ray nodded. “It’s great when a relationship works like that.”

“It is,” Felicity agreed, nodding her head slowly.

“I wish Anna would have let me help her finding herself too.”

Felicity smiled, putting a hand to Ray’s. “She will come around eventually and if she doesn’t, I am sure you will find someone else.”

Ray mumbled something to himself that she didn’t understand while Curtis nodded his head and said, “Felicity’s right. Maybe Anna wasn’t the right one.”

There was silence for a moment while Curtis and Felicity both looked at their friend. It had been weeks since Anna and Ray had broken up, but he clearly still wasn’t over it. Felicity couldn’t blame him, though. When she and Oliver had kind of broken up in a way at the end of her pregnancy, she had been devastated, too. That had been quite different and much more intense circumstances, but because of that Felicity knew what it felt like to lose the person you really loved.

“I guess we should go back to the article,” Ray suggested eventually.

Felicity squeezed his hand once more before she pulled her hand back and focused back onto the article. She was sure that he was going to find someone else. If Anna refused to see that Ray was a great guy, some other girl probably would.

Not everyone could be as lucky as she was and find the love of their life in high school and have a baby before graduation. Besides, as statistics proved most of those relationships didn’t even make it. She and Oliver would be the exception. She knew that.

 

 

Maybe it had been a mistake to take a Russian class, Oliver realized with a low sigh. The nerdy girl – the very same nerdy girl that had been sitting here when he had met Sebastian again a few weeks ago – shot him an angry glare since he was yet again disrupting the silence. Oliver quickly pressed his lips together and moved his thumb and forefinger over the thin line between them, pretending to be zipping them. The nerdy girl only frowned at him angrily and lowered her gaze back into the book.

It had been a hell of a day at college and he really needed to get through with this chapter of the book he needed to read for his Russian class. He had considered reading it at home, but he knew that Mae would only distract him. Cute blondes with big blue eyes were his weakness, but only if their surnames included ‘Smoak’.

Oliver decided to do the same and read the sentence again, trying to figure out what it was supposed to say. The problem with learning Russian was that it wasn’t only a different language, but it was also written in a different alphabet. Maybe he should have gone with an easier one when he had decided that learning a new language could be fun.

“Ollie!”

As soon as his name echoed through the almost empty part of the library, the nerdy girl closed her book with anger and got up. She took in a deep breath like she was about to yell at him and Oliver already readied himself for it when she just released a frustrated grunt, turned around and walked away. Yeah, she was probably going to avoid being in the same part of the library with him from now on.

Oliver didn’t have much time to feel sorry about that, though. Just a second after the nerdy girl was gone, Sebastian sat down on the edge of the table. He took the book Oliver was reading in and skimmed through the pages, chuckling.

“I forgot you were crazy enough to try learning Russian.”

“Yeah, I already regretted that choice, too,” Oliver admitted with a sigh, scratching the back of his head. “I should have probably picked something else. Like… British English maybe?”

Sebastian laughed without any restraint given where they were. “I know from experience that girls are highly into the British accent.”

“We both know that hooking up with girls is absolutely no argument for me,” Oliver replied. “There are only two girls in my life that I would do anything for and those are my girlfriend and my daughter.”

Sebastian looked at Oliver for a moment. There was an expression in his eyes that Oliver didn’t know how to interpret. It didn’t matter, though, since it only lasted shortly before it was already gone.

“I invited some friends over for a beer and thought you’d want to join us maybe.”

“Today?”

“Yeah, why not?”

Because it’s not Wednesday, Oliver thought to himself but didn’t voice that. He was sure that this answer would sound terribly stupid. From what he had understood during the parties he had been to in the last couple of weeks, most college students didn’t have their week planned out in every detail. Admittedly, none of them were parents, though.

Oliver glanced at the book, considering Sebastian’s offer. He could really use a drink and some time to relax with his friends. It was Tuesday, so Felicity was picking up Mae from Lyla and John’s and he doubted that he’d understand one word more of what he was reading here. Besides, it was still early Oliver realized with a glance at his watch. Maybe heading out to Sebastian’s for one drink would be good.

“Come on, you are usually only going out on Wednesdays. I am sure nobody is going to blame you for going out two days in a row once a month,” Sebastian told him, boxing his shoulder playfully.

“I just need to send Felicity a text to tell her that I will be at your place for an hour before I am back.”

“Okay, great. You look like you could use some fun.”

“Yeah, well, Russian still freaks me out,” Oliver admitted, pulling his phone from the pocket of his jeans. “I might have to cancel that class for next semester.”

Sebastian shrugged his shoulders. “We are young and there is still a lot of time to decide what we want to do. Who says we already need a plan now?”

Oliver nodded slowly, wondering if maybe he once again felt different because he was a father. He did need a plan to make sure his family had everything it needed though given his family’s money he doubted that there would be a time that they would actually have to worry. Besides, Felicity was the brains in their relationship, so he would happily be a stay-at-home dad, while she could make a career and probably take over Queen Consolidated one day.

**O:** I will be at Sebastian’s for an hour before I come home. It won’t take long.

Oliver placed his phone on the tabletop before he took his bag and started putting his things into it. Sebastian reached into the bag and pulled out  _ The Odyssey _ . Since Professor Stein had given it to him, Oliver had always carried it with him. To his own surprise he had already read it twice in the little of time, using every free second to do so. He still wasn’t exactly sure how that story was supposed to help him, though maybe he didn’t need the help anymore anyway. He and Felicity had made up after all.

“Are you reading this for a class?” Sebastian asked.

Oliver shook his head. “Professor Stein gave it to me when I told him about my struggle with Felicity.”

“And you actually read it?” Sebastian asked incredulously.

“Sure, why not?” Oliver asked, shrugging his shoulders.

“Well, I don’t think Professor Stein really has any idea what’s going on with people like us,” Sebastian replied. “How old is he? Seventy?”

Oliver just shrugged his shoulders once more, taking the book from Sebastian and putting it back in his bag. He needed to give it back to Professor Stein soon, but he felt like reading it again since he still hadn’t understood what the professor had tried to tell him by giving him that book.

Just when he closed his bag, his phone vibrated. Oliver quickly grabbed it and read the text Felicity had sent him.

**F:** Have fun, but don’t make me wait too long. ;)

Olive chuckled, remembering how much she loved to take over all of the bed whenever he wasn’t falling asleep right next to her. When he tried to push her to her side of the mattress, she would only claw her hands into the sheets and refused to let herself be moved. It was actually sweet.

**O:** Wouldn’t dare to. My battery is about to die, though.

**F:** I just picked up Mae. It’s fine. Love you.  <3

Oliver smiled.

**O:** Love you, too.

“Let’s go,” Oliver suggested, nodding his head towards the exit.

They took Sebastian’s car, the newest Porsche model, to his apartment. The battery of his phone died after half of the way Oliver realized with a sigh and pushed his phone into his bag since it was useless now anyway. The drive didn’t last long and within minutes they arrived at Sebastian’s apartment where a few of his friends, including Carter Bowen and to Oliver’s frustration also Carrie Cutter, were already waiting.

“There you are! What took you so long?” someone called from the living room.

“Ollie here needed a little more persuasion,” Sebastian explained, patting Oliver’s shoulder.

“Why?” the guy – Oliver didn’t remember his name – replied with a frown. “Baby duties?”

“Just needed to check she was taken care of,” Oliver replied briefly and took the bottle of beer the guy held out for him

“So I guess-“

“Just leave the man the hell alone, Tobias,” Sebastian told him and shot Oliver a look, rolling his eyes about his friend.

Drinking his beer, Oliver joined the small group around Carter. He had easily become the person Oliver liked most and a lot of that had to do with their shared hate for Max Fuller, though their shared love for sports, especially football, might have added a little to that too. When Carter mentioned that the new coach was thinking about adding a few new players, Oliver frowned.

“Wait, are we talking about the college team?” he asked, checking his watch to make sure it wasn’t too late yet before he took another bottle of beer.

“Yeah, we had some troubles lately and the old coach was kicked out and the new one makes high demands, but I think the team could become much better with him,” Carter explained. He took a sip from his beer before he cocked his head at Oliver. “Didn’t you play football in high school, too?”

“Yes, but I got kicked out,” Oliver explained, “because of that punch.”

“Oh, right,” Carter said. “If you’re interested in joining the team, I’m sure you could.”

Oliver shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. It would be a lot of work and with Mae…”

“Yeah, joining the team would probably take a lot of time,” Carter admitted. “Well, maybe you will find a way.”

“Maybe,” Oliver replied not completely convinced, shrugging his shoulders.

As much as he enjoyed playing football, Oliver doubted that he could make room for actually joining the team without disappointing both, his teammates and his family. Time-consuming hobbies like that would be hard to work into Felicity and his schedules. Maybe one day…

They talked about sports a little more before Carter’s phone rang. If the grin on his face was any indication, it was the girl he had told Oliver about. He had met her in one of his classes and had given her his number. Until now she had let him dangle.

“I’ll be back,” Carter stated and quickly hurried outside.

“Okay, let’s get in a little better mood,” Sebastian suggested and turned up the music. “Hey, Tobias, get the vodka from the fridge.”

Tobias hurried into the kitchen and came back with the bottle of vodka in his hand, balancing a dozen of shot glasses in his other hand. A few other guys quickly came over and took the glasses from him, handing them around.

When Sebastian thrusts a glass into Oliver’s hand, he quickly shook his head. “Thanks, but I’m good with the beer.”

“Come on, Ollie,” Sebastian said. “A few shots haven’t hurt anyone yet.”

“Or are you scared of getting into trouble with your girlfriend?” Tobias asked with a dry chuckle.

Before Oliver could reply with the snarky answer that was already forming on his tongue, Sebastian slapped Tobias’ chest not so playfully with the back of his hand. “Hey, that man is in a serious relationship. Sometimes you have to take a pass on something you would like to do because of a relationship.”

Oliver frowned, unsure what to make of that statement. It wasn’t like Sebastian wasn’t right in general. Of course you had to make sacrifices when you were in a relationship, but that wasn’t why he didn’t want a shot. The reason he didn’t want one was simple because he didn’t. It had nothing to do with Felicity.

“Though,” Sebastian added before Oliver could figure out how to respond and thrusting the glass into his hand after all, “I have to say Tobias is right in this and one shot really won’t hurt. Just drink a few bottles of beer after the vodka and she won’t notice it.”

“Like I said I don’t want to,” Oliver replied, putting the shot glass on the couch table.

“Come on, Ollie,” Sebastian said, taking the glass from the couch table and pouring vodka into it. He held it out for Oliver. “Just forget your girlfriend and your baby for a moment. The old Ollie was so much more fun to hang out with.”

He frowned at Sebastian, trying to figure out what the change in his behavior meant. Sebastian had never talked like this about Felicity or Oliver’s life in general. He had asked questions, maybe phrasing them a little awkwardly, but he had never talked like this. Otherwise Oliver would have never agreed to spend time with him.

The Odyssey was about a man who was held hostage on an island after a shipwreck. Instead of fighting for his way back home, he admitted defeat to the nymph that was keeping him away from his wife and his son and became her lover. Only when the gods intervened and told the nymph to give him free, he started his journey home where his wife and son were waiting for him, being loyal to him despite his years of absence. His journey isn’t an easy one, though. Odysseus gets distracted and his desire for glory gets in the way of his search for home.

Well, there was a lot more to the Odyssey, but this was the shortest way to summarize what was happening. Oliver had struggled to find out why Professor Stein would have given him that book. Looking at Sebastian holding out the vodka for him now, his words still echoing in Oliver’s mind, it kind of became perfectly clear.

Moving to Boston, away from his friends and part of his family, had been a journey for Oliver. He didn’t want to get philosophical, but in analogy to the book he had been kind of shipwrecked. He had felt lost and in a way he had admitted defeat to that feeling and despite knowing better he had given into the seductions of what this island had offered. Like Odysseus had given into the nymph, he had given in to these people when really he should fight to find his way home to Mae and Felicity, who had always been loyal to him.

Oliver was sure that if he wrote an essay about it, Professor Stein would find a hundred ways that this transfer didn’t work, but Oliver didn’t care. Professor Stein hadn’t given him the book for him to write an essay about it. He had given it to him to realize something and Oliver had. Who cared if it really worked with what the book was supposed to tell him?

“So what now, Ollie?” Sebastian asked, holding the glass a little more into his reach.

“You know what, Sebastian?” Oliver sighed, feeling a heavy weight he hadn’t realized he had been carrying on his chest for probably far too long, falling off from him. “You are really making it easy for me.”

With that Oliver turned around on his heels and walked outside, a wide grin on his lips. He couldn’t say when he had been this proud of himself the last time. Yes, partying had been kind of fun, but truth was that he just wasn’t that person anymore and he didn’t want to be.

“Hey, you’re leaving?” Carter asked when he stepped back into the apartment.

Oliver nodded. “Yes, I just figured out that maybe Sebastian and his friends are not the right people for me to hang out with.”

“They kind of have the habit to see nothing but rich boys in people, don’t they?”

“Yeah, kind of,” Oliver agreed, nodding his head slowly. Carter scratched the back of his head uncomfortably and sighed. Maybe he hadn’t been wrong with all the people he had met through Sebastian. “Maybe they aren’t the right people for you either.”

“I guess you are right,” Carter agreed. “I think I am heading home, too.”

Oliver nodded. “I guess that’s the right decision.”

Carter smiled. “If you give me a minute, we can take the bus together.”

“Sounds great,” Oliver replied. “Could I borrow your phone and call Felicity? My battery died and-“

“No problem,” Carter responded immediately, and handed him his phone. “I will just grab my jacket and say goodbye.”

“Okay, I’ll wait outside.”

While Carter headed back into the living room, Oliver left the apartment and quickly dialed Felicity’s number. The phone went straight to voicemail.

“Hey, it’s me,” Oliver said. “I guess you had a busy day and are already asleep and hogging the entire bed. Well, I just wanted to let you know that I will head home now and… I guess I see you at home. Love you.”

Oliver ended the call, smiling to himself. He knew that it was kind of obsolete to leave this message for her when she was already asleep and would only listen to it tomorrow. He liked the thought that she would wake up tomorrow and listen to that message, though.

“Ready to go?” Oliver asked when he heard the door open behind him.

“I suggest we should go to my place then?”

Oliver turned around quickly, finding Carrie approaching him slowly with what he assumed was a seductive smile on her lips.

“I thought you were Carter,” Oliver explained briefly.

Carrie’s smile widened. “You have to say it’s a nice surprise that it’s me then.”

“Not really,” Oliver replied between clenched jaws. “I think I mentioned several times that I am in a happy relationship, right?”

“A lot of people are in happy relationships and still decide to have fun.”

“Not me.”

“Are you sure?”

Carrie reached out a hand for his chest, but Oliver caught her wrist before her fingers could make contact with his body. Her green catlike eyes took him in carefully, the seductive smile still on her lips.

“Which part of me saying I am not interested did you not understand?”

As much as he had been able to transfer his life on the Odyssey – or was it the other way around? – Odysseus’ being the nymph’s lover was not something he would be able to relate to, at least not like this. Oliver had absolutely no interest in any other woman.

While they were staring at each other, Carrie’s smile slowly faded from her lips. She pulled her hand back with an angry look in her eyes.

“You know, Oliver, I convinced Sebastian to give you a chance because I thought you could be fun. Obviously I was wrong.”

“Obviously you were,” Oliver replied.

It all was so perfectly clear now. Carrie had tried to get to him through Sebastian. That was why Sebastian had asked him to join him and why he had lied about the study group instead of telling him about the party. He had been so stupid to actually believe these people could be his friends. It didn’t matter anymore, though. He knew better now.

Carter finally came outside. “Ready to go?”

Oliver handed him his phone and shot Carrie one last look before he nodded. “Yes, absolutely.”

Carter and Oliver made their way to the bus stop, chatting lightly about how they were both coming from rich families and had had their partyboy times, but they had actually given up on those before college. Sebastian and his circle of friends had just made them fall back to that again and looking back neither of them was really happy about it.

Before Carter dismounted the bus one stop before Oliver’s, they agreed on meeting again. Now that they had gotten rid of their wrong friends, at least the two of them could try being friends.

When Oliver eventually dismounted the bus and crossed the street to the apartment house, he was still shaking his head about how blind he had been. Sebastian’s lie about the study group should have been enough for him to know that he hadn’t been a friend. He just hadn’t wanted to see that.

It didn’t make sense to revel in his past mistakes, though. It was over and he knew better now, Oliver figured when he pulled his keys from the pocket of his pants and quietly unlocked the door to his apartment, aware that Felicity and Mae were probably sleeping. He put his bag to the floor next to the door and headed to the kitchen to drink a glass of water before going to sleep.

When he switched on the light in the kitchen, Oliver stopped, taking in what he saw. The small kitchen table was set and decorated with candles and rose petals, just like the rest of the kitchen was. Italian food was left untouched.

Oliver’s mind ran wild. Had he forgotten their anniversary? No way! It was still two months before that. Felicity’s birthday was in May. So was his. It wasn’t Valentine’s Day either. It was a day like every other, a normal Tuesday.

“Tuesday,” Oliver said in a whisper, screwing his eyes shut.

In all their detailed planning Tuesday nights were their nights. It was the evening that they spent together. It had been like that since they had moved to Boston. So when Felicity had texted him to not make her wait too long, she hadn’t meant that he shouldn’t come back home before she was in bed but to come back home in time for their date night. He had never forgotten that. How could he have forgotten it now?

Oliver took in a deep breath, turning around and heading to the bedroom. He had just opened the door but hadn’t taken a step into the room yet when he realized that Felicity was lying almost on the edge of the bed, as far away from his side as possible, her back turned towards where he was supposed to sleep.

“Felicity?” he whispered.

He noticed the falter in her breathing, telling him that she wasn’t asleep. Since she didn’t say anything, though, he knew that she didn’t want to talk to him right now. He couldn’t blame her. She had obviously put a lot of effort into this and he hadn’t shown up.

Oliver quickly took off his clothes, letting them fall to the floor and slipped into the bed on his side of the mattress, facing Felicity’s side. He watched the uneven rising and falling of her chest for several minutes, his fingertips aching to reach out for her. He knew better than that, though.

“I’m really sorry, Felicity,” he whispered. She didn’t reply, but he knew that she heard him.

Looked like his way home was going to be just as troublesome as Odysseus’ Oliver realized, taking in a deep breath. No matter how hard it would be, he would make his way home to Felicity. He wouldn’t stop until they were okay again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You are halfway through the story now. I know it looks bad right now, but don’t you worry! We have already seen how Oliver and Felicity deal with problems and now they will just try to get to the root of that. With Oliver realizing that his friends aren’t such good friends, the first step is actually already made. 
> 
> So while you will be progressing this chapter, I will start writing the first chapter of the sequel to this story. :)


	7. Chapter 7

Felicity stared at the alarm clock on her nightstand, forcing herself to breathe in and out as evenly as possible, while she was waiting for her alarm to go off. She hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep last night. Instead she had lain awake, making sure her breathing made it look like she was asleep though she doubted that Oliver bought it even for a second, while she had tried to get past her anger and disappointment.

It was much easier said than done, though.

When she had realized that he had forgotten their date night yesterday, she had tried to figure out if she had a right to be mad. They hadn’t exactly said that they would spend the evening together, but it was their routine, so it shouldn’t be repeated every week, right? They didn’t remind each other about who dropped Mae at Lyla’s and who picked her up each day, either. They just knew, so she shouldn’t feel like she should have reminded him about the date, either, right?

Felicity felt the urge to roll herself on her back with a sigh, but she was almost sure that Oliver was only waiting for her to give any real sign that she was really not asleep. She wasn’t ready to talk to him yet. If they talked now, she would yell at him. She couldn’t yell at him, though, because if she did, she’d say things that she didn’t mean and couldn’t take back after it. Besides, Mae was sleeping in the room next-door, and the last thing Felicity wanted was for her baby girl to hear her parents fight. Of course she’d be too young to really understand, but it wouldn’t be good for her.

As soon as the alarm went off, Felicity sat up in bed and if the movements from the other side of the bed were any indication, so did Oliver. Ignoring the black spot that danced in front of her eyes at her quick movements, she got up, turned off the alarm and picked up her clothes from the floor, losing no time and putting them on immediately.

“Felicity,” Oliver said behind her carefully, his voice sounding husky. She was sure he hadn’t slept either, but Felicity couldn’t really bring herself to care right now. “I’m really-“

“I don’t want to hear it,” she interrupted him, putting on her sweater.

Felicity shot him a short look but quickly turned her eyes away. It was quite hard being angry at Oliver when he was sitting in bed with just his boxers on, his short hair tousled and wrinkles in his face where the pillow had pressed against his skin. She wasn’t ready to get over her disappointment yet, so she couldn’t look in his big blue eyes that looked like the ones of a kicked puppy.

“Felicity, I-“

“What did I just say?” Felicity asked with a hiss, turning around to look at Oliver angrily. “Right now I am really not interested in hearing anything that you feel you need to say because I am so damn angry at you that whatever you would say would go unheeded. Better spare your excuses for when I am willing to hear them. Just don’t count on-“

“Ba-ba-ba.”

Felicity looked at the baby monitor on her nightstand, seeing the red lights that told her that sounds were coming from the complementary part of the baby monitor in Mae’s room. She took in a deep breath, turning back around to grab a hair tie and put her hair into her usual high ponytail. Not looking back once more, she left their bedroom and went into Mae’s nursery.

“Hey, you are already awake,” she said with a smile, seeing her daughter standing in her bed, with her little hands wrapped tightly around the barrier of her bed. “Usually I have to wake you. Didn’t you sleep well?”

She lifted Mae out of the crib and kissed her rosy cheek. The little girl looked at her with her big blue eyes, taking her mother in carefully. Felicity smiled, bouncing Mae up and down on her hip a little bit. It was like the baby refused to let herself be fooled because unlike most of the times when Felicity did that, Mae didn’t smile. It was like she knew something was wrong with her mommy.

“You know who took a day off from work today?” Felicity asked Mae, starting to change her diaper and get the girl dressed for the day. “Uncle Johnny did, so he can spend all day with you and Aunt Lyla and Baby Andria. That’s going to be fun, right?”

As much effort as Felicity put into sound cheerful, Mae refused to smile. She looked at her mother with an expression Felicity had never seen on her daughter. Felicity was sure that as much as she tried to not show how crappy she felt, Mae could see it. She had felt it when she had still been growing in her belly, and she could feel it now.

While she was continuing to dress Mae, she kept talking to her about anything and everything. She said whatever came to her mind, feeling like if she just continued to talk, maybe Mae would finally start smiling.

“Are you having a bad day?” she asked Mae, tickling her baby’s stomach, but again the baby didn’t react much. “Hey, you can at least smile when mommy is trying her best to-“

When Felicity felt a prickling in the back of her neck, she fell silent and took in a deep breath. Pulling the hem of Mae’s shirt down, she turned her head to the side for a moment. Oliver was standing in the frame of the door, dressed by now, and looked at them.

“Anything you want to say?” Felicity asked between clenched teeth.

“I prepared Mae’s breakfast,” Oliver said, approaching her slowly, “and you forgot your glasses.”

When he held out her glasses to her, Felicity took them and put them on her nose. She lifted Mae from the changing table and handed her to Oliver then. He made sure not to touch her when he took Mae and held her against his chest. Felicity went past Oliver, seeing from the corner of her eye how he handed her the bottle of milk and Mae started drinking eagerly. She could hear Oliver talking to their daughter quietly while Felicity was walking back into their bedroom, packed a few things out of her backpack and put in some others she needed for the day.

Putting on the backpack, Felicity went back to the nursery where Oliver was walking up and down with Mae on his hip. He talking to her just as cheerfully as Felicity had before, but again it didn’t make the girl smile. She probably saw that the smile on his lips just didn’t reach her daddy’s eyes.

When Oliver noticed her, he took her in with a frown. “Are you leaving already?”

Felicity nodded, taking Mae from Oliver and kissing her cheek once more. The little girl was still drinking her milk, looking from one parent to the other now, though.

“What about breakfast?” Oliver asked.

“I’m not hungry,” she simply replied and finally worked up the courage to really look at him.

She could see the guilt and the regret in Oliver’s eyes. He wasn’t happy about what had happened last night. She knew that and she understood that people made mistakes, but right now it was hard to just shrug her shoulders and say it was fine. This was the second time in less than a week that she felt like Oliver was putting something else in front of his family.

She knew how important it had been for him to have friends here. She had understood that. She still did. She would have gone insane if she didn’t have any friends here, so of course she had supported Oliver about finding friends and they had found this solution with how they spent their Wednesday evenings. And of course he wasn’t supposed to spend time with his friends only on Wednesdays, but Tuesday’s had always been their days. So whether or not it made sense or was right, she was still disappointed.

Sucking in a deep breath, Felicity turned her eyes from Oliver and looked at her daughter. “Are we going to go to Lyla’s now? Yes, we are.”

Oliver quickly leaned forward and kissed Mae’s forehead, whispering, “I love you. Have fun, Sweetie.”

Felicity went to the door where she grabbed Mae’s jacket. She had the door handle already in her hand when Oliver asked, “Are we going to talk about this?”

She looked at Oliver, seeing his thumb move against his fingertips in this nervous tick she had noticed on him a while ago. She bit down on her bottom lip, sucking in a deep breath. She nodded, though. “Sure. Just not now.”

“After our last classes?” Oliver asked.

Felicity nodded slowly. “Sure.”

She opened the door, already taking the first step out. “I’m really sorry, Felicity.”

“I know you are,” Felicity replied, looking at the floor. The right corner of her mouth twitched, her face looking screwed up with the forced, half-hearted smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “It just doesn’t exactly change the fact that I am hurt.”

She lifted her gaze to look at him, seeing the regret in his eyes, but just like she had said it really didn’t change anything about the way she felt right now. Still looking at him, she shrugged her shoulders and closed the door behind her. She took in a deep breath, willing the tears she felt springing to her eyes not to fall down her cheeks.

Felicity didn’t want to make a mountain out of a molehill. It had only been one date Oliver had missed, but…

“Let’s go see Aunt Lyla, right?” she asked Mae, pushing all her thoughts of what had happened last night away, and started walking down the stairs.

She knew she was way too early. Since she had gotten dressed in record time and skipped breakfast, there was still a lot of time before she usually dropped Mae off at Lyla’s. She was sure that Lyla was already awake anyway, so she just hoped that her friend didn’t mind if she dropped Mae off already. That way Felicity could walk to campus and maybe clear her head a little before her first class started.

Only a few seconds after she had knocked, the door opened. Lyla frowned at her, knotting the belt of her bathrobe. “Hey, you’re early today.”

“Yeah,” Felicity replied, forcing herself to smile. “I couldn’t sleep and I figured I could use a walk before my first class starts, so … Anyway, I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, of course not. If we had known before, Johnny would have waited and taken Mae with him to the grocery store. He and Andria just headed out. She loves these little shopping trips,” Lyla replied, taking Mae from Felicity. She tapped her forefinger against the bottle in Mae’s hand, asking her, “Are you having breakfast-to-go today?”

Felicity watched her daughter smiling at Lyla for a moment before she turned her head to her mommy. Felicity squeezed Mae’s hand and said, “Okay, mommy needs to go now. See you-“

“Don’t you want to come in and tell me what’s going on?” Lyla asked, cocking her head.

“What- What do you mean? What should be-“

When Lyla perked up an eyebrow, wordlessly telling Felicity that her attempt to play down what had happened did not work with her friend. Lyla knew her better than almost anyone. She had always known her, so of course she could see right through her. When Felicity took in a sniffling breath, the tears springing to her eyes against her will now, Lyla quickly took a step forward and wrapped an arm around her friend’s shoulder, pulling her inside of the apartment. While Lyla pushed her into the living room, the tears started running down Felicity’s cheek and it wasn’t long before Millie joined into her mother’s crying.

“Sit down,” Lyla said, pushing Felicity into the cushions of her couch and sitting down next to her before she put Mae onto Felicity’s lap. “Here, you go. Comfort mommy a little.”

Felicity sucked in a breath and quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks. She leaned her lips against Mae’s temple and whispered, “Everything’s alright, Sweetie.”

The baby didn’t seem to really believe her mother. She still looked dissatisfied and released a whiney sound. She lifted her bottle of milk to her lips and continued drinking, though. She even snuggled herself against Felicity’s chest with a low sigh.

“So what happened?” Lyla asked, resting her elbow on the back of the couch and propping her head up on her hand. “Didn’t your date with Oliver go like plan yesterday?”

“He didn’t come,” Felicity replied.

Lyla perked up her eyebrows. “He didn’t come?”

Felicity shook her head. “I had everything prepared and waiting for him, but he didn’t come.”

“And he didn’t call either?” Lyla asked with a frown.

“He texted me around six that he was going to Sebastian’s for a beer and I thought it was really just a beer and he was going to come back in time, but he didn’t. He told me that his phone’s battery was low, but I thought it didn’t matter because Mae was home with me and fine and how much could happen in the twenty minutes it takes to drink a bottle of beer?” Felicity asked. “So I have prepared everything and waited for him for more than two hours before I gave up and went to bed. I felt the biggest idiot in the world.”

Felicity closed her eyes, shaking her head with a sigh and smiling sadly. She knew it was stupid to be so sad and disappointed about this. In almost two years this was the first time that Oliver had stood her up. It wasn’t that big of a deal, right?

“Do you think it’s stupid to be angry with him?” Felicity asked Lyla, opening her eyes. “It was just that one night and-“

Lyla shook her head, taking Felicity’s hand and squeezing her fingers. “What you feel is real, so whether or not it makes sense isn’t what counts. You put effort in your date last night and Oliver didn’t show up. Of course you are not dancing around happily.”

Felicity nodded slowly and kissed the crown of Mae’s head. She didn’t know if Lyla’s understanding for her feelings was a sign that she was right or it was just a conclusion of how long they knew each other. It didn’t matter, though, because right now Lyla’s words made her feel a little better.

“What did Oliver say happened?”

“We didn’t talk about it yet,” Felicity replied.

“Wasn’t he home this morning?”

“He was, but I didn’t want to talk to him,” Felicity explained. “We have this agreement that when we are really mad at each other or just one of us is mad at the other, we just take some time for ourselves and talk when our heads are cleared.”

“So you left without talking to him first?”

Felicity shrugged her shoulders. “That way we don’t yell at each other or say things we don’t mean.”

At the end of the pregnancy when Oliver’s bottled up frustration about Felicity shutting him out had kind of exploded and he had let it all out, he had said things she knew he hadn’t meant and it had ended in them breaking up with each other. Neither of them wanted something like that to ever happen again, so they were trying to be as mature as possible and took their time to clear their minds before talking. It was the way their relationship worked.

“And now?” Lyla asked after a moment.

Felicity shrugged her shoulders. “I thought now that Oliver has found new friends that it was all getting easier, but it feels like it’s only getting worse. Lyla, I don’t want to lose him and I don’t want to make a bigger deal out of this than it is, but how are we going to continue if things are this messy?”

“Well, I guess first you will have to talk to Oliver,” Lyla replied, tugging a strand of Felicity’s hair behind her ear and smiling at her friend. “You should tell him how you feel and why you are disappointed.”

Felicity nodded slowly. “We will talk after our last classes today.”

Lyla nodded. “And then you will figure out how to go on.”

Pulling Mae closer to her chest, Felicity looked at her little girl and bit down on her bottom lip. Lyla made it sound so easy like she and Oliver could just talk and everything would solve itself in the process. Felicity was scared that maybe it wasn’t as easy this time.

“You know, Oliver has only been really happy here since he met Sebastian,” Felicity explained slowly. “I don’t blame him for that because of course he needed friends. It’s just that… I offered him several times to go back to Starling. I know he misses Tommy and Thea and his parents and for him it doesn’t matter what college he graduates from. He only moved to Boston with me and stayed here with me because he knows that MIT has always been my dream. I fear that even if I give him the chance once more, he still won’t say that he wants to move back to Starling and that way we will somehow drift apart. I don’t want that to happen. I know he thinks that if I give up MIT to move back to Starling with him, I will blame him for that sooner or later. MIT isn’t my priority anymore, though. He and Mae are. They are my family and I… I don’t want him to be unhappy just so I can have the icing on my already perfect cake.”

“Maybe what you two need is to think about what you want and need for your relationship to work and for you to be happy,” Lyla suggested slowly. “And maybe you should do so on your own.”

Felicity released a chuckle. “We are living together and raising a child together. We don’t really have time or room to do so.”

“Then take the time and make the room,” Lyla replied firmly.

“Are you suggesting that we break up for some time or take a break or whatever?” Felicity asked, feeling her heart stop beating and her stomach twisting in pain. The last time they had broken up it had already been unbearable and Felicity was sure that it was only going to be worse now.

“No,” Lyla hurried to reply, shaking her head. “I just… You say Oliver is a little homesick, so why not giving him the chance to go back to Starling for a weekend? He can visit Tommy and his family, and you can spend time to think here. That way you are not that much influenced by each other.”

Felicity lowered her gaze to Mae. They had never been without Oliver for longer than a few hours. Admittedly, one could think that they were spending too much time together since they seemed to be kind of inseparable. It had never bothered either of them, though, and since they lived together, it was kind of natural to spend a lot of time together. She didn’t want to spend even a weekend without Oliver, but she knew that maybe Lyla’s words held some truth.

“Maybe you’re right,” Felicity whispered eventually. “When I was pregnant, I often took time for myself, so I could think. Maybe that’s what Oliver needs, too.”

“Just propose it to him,” Lyla suggested. “And if you decide to do this, just tell me when, and I will make sure that I have time to help out with Mae.”

Felicity nodded slowly, still not fully convinced that she really wanted to do this but also knowing in the back of her mind that maybe it would help them. At least it was worth a try.

Glancing at her watch, she sighed and kissed Mae’s cheek. “Mommy has to go now.”

“Do you want me to take Mae longer today?” Lyla asked, lifting the baby from her mommy’s lap and pulling her close to her. “Maybe it would help you and Oliver talk a little more openly when she’s not around.”

Felicity shook her head. “I know you mean well, but… Mae not sleeping home is kind of the last thing I want.”

Lyla smiled. “I absolutely understand. I hate when Andria is not here, too.”

When Felicity got up, Lyla once again repeated that if there was any way she and John could help, all Felicity had to do was say it. Felicity thanked her friend, once again telling her that they were already doing much more than she could ever give back. She kissed both Lyla’s and Mae’s cheek before she took her backpack and left towards the bus stop, knowing that she couldn’t make it in time if she walked now.

Well, she certainly had a lot to think about today.

 

 

“Once more?” Oliver asked Mae and she squealed with excitement, wiggling her arms and looking at her daddy expectantly. “Let’s do this once more.”

He squeezed the toy, watching the wide smile on Mae’s face. She followed the movement of his hand when he put the toy under the blanket that was spread on the floor in front of them. Her eyes moved to his face for a short moment before she looked back at his hand that was now hovering over the blanket, right where he had hidden the toy. Mae almost seemed to be holding her breath while Oliver slowly lowered his hand and squeezed the toy through the blanket. As soon as the squeaking sound was to be heard, Mae giggled full of delight.

Oliver gasped for breath dramatically. “What makes that noise? The toy isn’t even here or can you see it?”

With a smile on his lips Oliver watched Mae leaning forward and crawling towards the blanket. She sat down on the edge of it and tried to tug the blanket away from under her butt to reveal the toy underneath. She looked at him unhappily, making a dissatisfied sound, when the fabric just refused to move under her.

“It doesn’t work when you’re sitting on the blanket,” Oliver told her, wrapping an arm around Mae’s waist and pull her from the blanket. With her butt sitting on the floor instead of the blanket, she could finally lift the fabric. Squealing with excitement she took the revealed toy and showed it to Oliver. He smiled. “Yeah, I should have known I can’t fool you, hm? You are just as smart as mommy, aren’t you?”

At the thought of Felicity Oliver sucked in a deep breath. He had been unable to concentrate today which was why he had gone home after his first class and picked up Mae to spend time with her instead of wasting time trying to focus when all he could think about was Felicity. He had texted her that he had left and picked up Mae already and she had texted back that she had canceled the study group for this evening, so they could talk. That had been all they had talked to each other today after she had left early this morning.

Since he had come home yesterday, he had tried to figure out how he had forgotten about their date. He had always looked forward to spending Tuesday nights with Felicity, really taking time as a couple and not just studying next to each other or something. His mind had just been elsewhere.

He would have to find a way to make it up to her. This was the second time in only a couple of weeks that he had disappointed her. He knew now that he needed new friends, real friends, so that was probably a good thing. It didn’t change the fact that he shouldn’t have stumbled this much in the first place.

He had fought so long to have this – a life with Felicity and Madeleine where they could rely on each other and share everything with each other. Then why was he doing his best to mess this up whenever he got the chance? He didn’t want that. He didn’t want to be that guy. He had sworn himself to be better and he knew he could be. He could be better than that. He could just hope that Felicity would give him another chance… again.

Mae tugged at the front of his shirt, holding the toy out for him. Oliver smiled, stroking his hand over her short, curly hair. It was a blessing Mae was still this young. She might sense that something was a little off, but she didn’t understand how badly he had messed up again and because of that she still loved him the same.

“Again?” he asked and Mae smiled. “You already know the trick.”

Mae continued to hold the toy out for him, so Oliver started to play the game once more. He squeezed the toy a few times before he hid it under the blanket and then squeezed it through the fabric. Though he had played this game uncountable times with her today already, Mae still squealed with excitement when the toy squeaked under the blanket. She was just about to pull the toy out from under the blanket once more when Oliver heard the key turning in the lock of the front door.

“Hey, Mae,” he whispered to her and immediately she looked at him. “I think mommy is coming home.”

He could hear Felicity letting her backpack fall to the floor carelessly before she came to the living room. As soon as she stepped into the doorframe, looking tired and exhausted, Mae crawled towards her. Felicity smiled, lifting the little girl into her arms and peppering her face with a dozen of kisses to make her giggle.

“Look who can smile again,” Felicity said, relief obvious on her face.

“Yeah, it almost took me three hours, but I finally found something that cheered her up a bit,” Oliver said quietly.

Felicity looked at him, a short smile ghosting over her face. Oliver sucked in a deep breath, smiling back at her just as slightly. He was just about to ask her if she was ready to talk or if she needed more time when Mae turned in her arms and pointed at the blanket.

“You want to go back to daddy?” Felicity asked, slowly approaching him and kneeling down on the floor next to him.

As soon as Mae was on the floor she crawled over to the blanket, pulled the toy out from under it and held it out for Oliver. He smiled.

“You want to show mommy our new game?” Oliver asked and Mae smiled.

“You and daddy have a new game?” Felicity asked their daughter and she wiggled her arms happily in response. “Well, show me.”

Oliver remembered the first time Felicity had referred to him as daddy and it still warmed his heart whenever she did. The word just reminded him of how much connected them with each other, not that he would ever forget that.

“Okay, so let’s show mommy our game, yeah?”

Oliver took the toy from Mae’s hand, repeating their usual game. He kept his eyes strictly on Mae, but he could see Felicity’s reaction from the corner of his eyes. She was taking him in intensely, only looking away whenever Mae looked at her mother to check her reaction to the game. When Oliver squeezed the toy under the blanket, Mae looked at Felicity and squealed with delight.

“What’s that noise, Mae?” Felicity asked. “Do you hear that?”

The little girl crawled forward and pulled the toy out from under the blanket. She turned around to Felicity and squeezed it in front of her face.

Felicity gasped for breath dramatically and leaned forward, so her face was on one level with Mae’s. Puckering her lips, Felicity looked past their daughter to Oliver with narrowed eyes and whispered to Mae, “Did daddy try to hide this toy from us?”

“I tried,” Oliver admitted with a sigh of relief that they could still act normally around each other for their daughter, “but Mae was so much smarter than me.”

“That’s girl power,” Felicity replied. “Come on, ghetto fist to that, Mae.”

Felicity held out her first for Mae and the little girl bumped fist against her mother’s immediately. When she started giggling, loving this game so much, she actually fell back from laughter. His hands moved out to stop Mae’s head from bumping against the floor and managed to sneak between her and the floor just in time.

“Careful,” he told Mae, but she just turned around and crawled away and out of his reach. Oliver frowned after her with a shake of his head, saying with playfully offended voice, “Yeah, just ignore me and go away.”

Oliver watched Mae for a moment longer, watching her crawling over the blanket he had spread out and tried to figure out if any of the other toys he had hidden underneath it made any sounds. He smiled at how nosy she was. She loved exploring her environment and testing her own abilities. It was always great to watch.

“I think-“

At the sound of Felicity’s voice he immediately tore his eyes away from Madeleine and looked at his girlfriend instead. She frowned slightly, biting down on her bottom lip. Her thumb moved against the tips of her fingers, a tick she knew she had adapted from him. He waited patiently for her to say something, holding his breath in the meantime, but Felicity stayed silent.

“If you need more time, I can-“

“No,” Felicity interrupted him quickly, shaking her head. She turned her head to look at Mae for a moment before she looked back at him with a sigh. “I am just getting changed and then we’ll talk, okay?”

Oliver nodded. “Thanks.”

Felicity smiled shortly. “Sure.”

She got up from the floor and left the living room to get changed. Oliver looked after her, taking in a deep breath. Felicity was still disappointed. He had seen it in his eyes and after he had cleared up what she had prepared for them last night, he understood it even more. She had put a lot of effort into the preparations. She had probably been excited to see his reaction to it. She had waited for him. And he hadn’t showed up.

Good thing he had come to his right mind and could make up for this up now!

When Felicity came back in her sweatpants and one of his hoodies, sitting back down on the floor, Oliver held his breath once more. He pressed his lips together and put his hands around his ankles and turned around to her a little more, so he could face her but still have an eye on Mae. She was still busy exploring what was underneath the blanket, but he knew how quickly her interest could be raised by something else and she might start climbing furniture.

Felicity looked at him intensely. She had her lips puckered, moving them from the right side to the left side and back again like she usually did when she was busy trying solve some problem on her laptop. He usually enjoyed watching her when she looked like that. Felicity was always so determined to find a solution to whatever technical problem she was facing that it really was a pleasure to watch.

It wasn’t the same now that she looked at him like that, though. He didn’t like being looked at the same way like her technical problems though he had to admit that he knew how much Felicity loved taking care of her technical problems, so maybe it wasn’t that bad after all and-

“Are you babbling in your head because you look like you are babbling in your head,” Felicity said, cocking her head slightly.

Oliver smiled, lowering his eyes for a moment. “We both know I took that up from you.”

Felicity smiled back at him for a moment, making his stomach flutter slightly. The smile soon faded away, though. Oliver lowered his gaze guiltily.

“I’m really sorry, Felicity,” he said eventually, lifting his gaze to look at her again. “I don’t know how I could have forgot it was date night.”

“I know,” Felicity whispered with a sigh, “but that doesn’t change that I am hurt.”

Oliver nodded, feeling the stitch of guilt in his chest. He knew he had hurt her, but hearing her saying it made it even worse in a way.

“I am not going to see them again. I-“

Felicity shook her head. “I don’t want you to give up on your friends.”

“I don’t think they really were friends,” Oliver explained, “at least most of them probably weren’t. I guess I just have to keep looking for a while longer and I promise that something like yesterday will never happen again and that I will make up to you for this and-”

“It was just one evening,” Felicity said quietly. “Let’s not make a bigger deal out of this than it really is.”

“But it is a big deal,” Oliver told her. “It shouldn’t have happened.”

Felicity frowned slightly, but she didn’t reply. Oliver could see the struggle in her eyes. She didn’t want to agree because if it was a big deal, they might be in trouble, but she also didn’t want to object because deep down she knew that he was right and this kind of was a big deal. He had messed up big time.

She kept looking at him with this slight frown on her forehead for awhile. Oliver felt the need to reach out a hand and take hers, but he wasn’t sure if she’d accept it. That was why he just tightened the hold he had on his ankles to stop his hands from reaching out for hers.

“I talked to Lyla about what happened,” Felicity said eventually, her voice quiet and the look on her face slightly insecure, “and she suggested something that might help us. I… thought about it all day, unsure if I should even bring it up, but… maybe it will help?”

“Well, I think we already established that John and Lyla give the best advice, didn’t we?” Oliver asked with a smile. “So what did Lyla suggest how we should fix this?”

Felicity bit down on her bottom lip and moved a little closer to him until their knees touched. She took his hands, holding it in both of hers. Oliver released a quiet breath of relief, grateful that she wasn’t only accepting the touch but actually initiated it herself. He gently stroked his thumbs over her knuckles and squeezed her hands.

“Lyla suggested that maybe it was good for us if we…”

She stopped, biting down on her bottom lip and looking at him with hesitation. She cocked her head slightly, a little crease forming between her eyebrows. Taking in a deep breath, her teeth buried even deeper in her bottom lip, the skin around it turning white. Quickly Oliver lifted their linked fingers and swiped his thumb over her bottom lip, freeing it from the maltreatment. Felicity looked at him for only a moment longer before she leaned forward and gently brushed her lips against his. Oliver was so surprised that he almost pulled back, but he quickly caught himself and responded to the kiss, moving his lips against hers slowly.

The kiss didn’t last nearly as long as Oliver would have wished for, but he smiled contently when Felicity broke the kiss, licking his lips to chase the taste her lips had left. Felicity stayed close, but she pulled away enough for them to look at each other. She squeezed his hands.

“Lyla suggested that maybe it was good for us if we thought about what we both need to fix this situation and to be really happy,” Felicity started slowly, watching the reaction on his face closely, “and she suggested that we do so separately, so we could really figure out what we, individually, need which is why we should maybe take time for ourselves and… spend a weekend apart.”

She said the last words slowly, so very slowly like forming the words and saying them out loud caused her physical pain. It took Oliver the beat of a second to understand the meaning behind the words and he felt his stomach drop at the thought. His chest tightened, the air getting stuck in his lungs. He could feel the smile falling from his lips and of course it didn’t go unnoticed by Felicity.

“No, no, no,” she hurried to say, vehemently shaking her head and moving closer to him.

She squeezed his hands tightly, her nails digging into his skin and probably leaving crescent-shaped marks on the skin at the back of Oliver’s hands. He couldn’t care less, though. Still trying to process her words, he just kept still, held onto her hands for dear life and reminded himself to breathe. His gaze was focused on her face, taking her in intensely.

“This is no breakup,” she told him firmly, squeezing his hands reassuringly once more. “This is us taking time to figure out what we need to be happy.”

“What I need is you and Mae,” Oliver replied without hesitation.

Felicity smiled at him, but even though it reached her eyes, it didn’t quite chase the sadness away. She loosened her right hand from his fingers and put her hand against his cheek instead. He snuggled his face into her touch immediately, his hand coming up to keep her fingers against his cheek. He closed his eyes and turned his head to press a kiss to the palm of her hand. The touch calmed him down.

“And we need you,” Felicity told him quietly, “which is why I don’t want to break up with you. I really don’t. I just think that as long as I am right here, you will never find out if maybe what you really need was for us to move back to Starling.”

“I-“

“I know that you moved here because of me and I know that you are giving our life here one chance after the other because of me,” Felicity told him. “I can tell you that Boston isn’t my priority anymore and you’d still give it another chance because that is just who you are. You are always making sure I am a happy and I have everything I need to be happy before you take care of what you need. I don’t want our relationship to be like that. I love you and I need you to be happy, so I want you to really think about what you want. Forget the girl I used to be for a moment, the girl whose only dream was to go to MIT. I’m not her anymore. I have other dreams and other priorities now and I am sure I will be happy at some other college, too. It doesn’t have to be MIT and it certainly shouldn’t be MIT if living in Boston doesn’t make you happy.”

Oliver took in a deep breath, eyeing Felicity up closely. He could see in her eyes that she meant exactly what she said. She wasn’t pushing him away the way she used to when they had been in high school. She just tried to give him the room he might need to figure out what he needed.

He eventually lowered his gaze to their enlaced fingers, taking in the way their fit together perfectly. The thought of leaving Felicity and Mae, even if only for a couple of days, made his stomach drop. That was especially given the crappy timing after what had happened last week. He knew that Felicity wasn’t sending him away, but what if the separation was going to create even more distance between them?

“Oliver?” she whispered, squeezing his hands.

“That was a great speech,” he said, looking back into her eyes.

Felicity smiled. “Thanks.”

“I am just not sure that it will help us,” he added. “I don’t want to be apart from the two of you.”

“I don’t want you to be apart from us, either,” Felicity replied, “so maybe this is a bad idea. I just… I just felt like the least I should do is suggesting it to you. This is absolutely your choice and I will accept it no matter what it is. I-“

When Felicity stopped and cocked her head, looking past him, Oliver followed her eyes. A wide smile spread on his lips at what he saw. Mae was lying on their fluffy carpet, moving her fingers through the long fibers lazily. She yawned.

“Okay, I think someone needs to go to bed,” Felicity said. She kissed Oliver’s cheek before she got up and lifted Mae into her arms. She slowly walked towards him and held Mae in front of his face. “Do you want to kiss daddy goodnight?”

Oliver puckered his lips and Mae kissed him gently. “Good night, Sweetie.”

Felicity lifted Mae back onto her hip and walked backwards to the door. “Say bye-bye, Mae.”

Mae looked at her mother for a short moment before she looked back at Oliver with a smile that never failed to warm his heart. She lifted her hand and waved at him before she dropped her head against Felicity’s shoulder with a deep sigh.

Once the two of them were out of sight, Oliver rubbed his hands over his face. He felt tired and exhausted, the sleepless night fully catching up on him now. Gathering whatever energy he had left, he got up from the floor and folded the blanket that was still spread out before he started gathering the toys he had hidden under it.

He still didn’t know what to make out of Felicity’s or rather Lyla’s suggestions. So far he and Felicity had trusted Lyla and John with all of their advices. Their friends were older and more mature. They seemed to have a lot more experience in life than he and Felicity had. Oliver knew that he and Felicity could be more than happy to have friends like them, but he doubted their advice this time. After all he and Felicity should know best how to make their relationship work, right?

Taking some time for themselves was their usual way of dealing with problems. It protected them from their emotions and from making mistakes in the heat of the moment. Sometimes Oliver doubted that this was the right way to deal with things. All he had to do was remembering how he had broken up with Felicity in the heat of a moment and because of that almost missed his daughter’s birth to remember why maybe it was the best way after all, though.

When the last toy was put in the toy trunk, Oliver slumped into the cushions of the couch and closed his eyes.

He would like to see Tommy, his parents and Thea again. He also thought that maybe he needed to reconsider what he needed. Well, he knew what he needed – his family and friends – so what he actually had to think about was how he could get new friends now. He just didn’t want to be apart from Felicity and Mae. The idea seemed to physically hurt him.

He had already fallen into some half-sleep when he felt a blanket being pulled over him and a warm body snuggling to his side. Opening his eyes with a sigh, he put his arm around Felicity’s shoulder and kissed the top of her head.

“Is Mae asleep?”

“She fell asleep after half of her bottle,” Felicity replied, sounding just as tired as him. She tipped her head back a little to look at him, and he could see in the way her pupils seemed so much smaller how tired she had to be. “I could fall asleep right here and right now.”

Oliver chuckled, tightening his hold on her. “Yeah, me too. I didn’t sleep at all last night.”

“Neither did I,” Felicity replied with a sigh and rested her chin on his shoulder. Her left hand moved from where it rested on his hip up his chest right over his heart. “I am not sure I will make it into bed tonight.”

“We’ll sleep on the couch then because there is no way I’ll be able to carry you to bed tonight,” Oliver replied sleepily and kissed her forehead. “Is it okay if we stay like this?”

“Sure,” Felicity replied.

She snuggled her cheek back against his shoulder. Her fingers tightened in the fabric of his shirt and Oliver snuck a hand under the blanket to put it over hers. He kissed the crown of her head before resting his chin there with a content sigh.

He knew their problems weren’t solved, but he appreciated this moment of closeness. It was like a reassurance that they were working through it. They weren’t giving up, not on their relationship and not on each other. It made his decision at least a little bit easier.

“Maybe Lyla’s idea wasn’t that bad,” he said in a whisper, barely louder than a breath like if he just didn’t say it loud enough and Felicity didn’t hear it, maybe he could still take it back.

Felicity looked at him, though, perking up her eyebrows. “Are you sure?”

Taking in a deep breath, he considered his answer thoroughly. “Yes, I’m sure. I’ll book a ticket tomorrow to go to Starling from Friday to Sunday if that’s okay with you.”

“Sure,” Felicity replied and quickly bit down on her bottom lip. It had only been a single syllable, but it had been enough for him to hear the insecurity in her voice. Before he could say anything, though, Felicity asked, “You do know that I don’t really want you to go, right?”

“And you know I don’t really want to go, but if this might help us…” Oliver moved his fingers through some strands of her hair, nodding his head. He kissed her forehead tenderly before he rested his against hers and whispered, “I’ll be back. I promise.”

Felicity nodded, her hand tightening around his shirt. “I’ll be waiting for you. I promise.”

They smiled at each other for a moment before their lips met in a reassuring kiss. Oliver tried to memorize the moment in all details, the way Felicity was pressed against him and the sweet scent of her skin as well as the way their tongues moved in perfect harmony. He was sure that he could use the memory when he was in Starling without her because he missed her already.


	8. Chapter 8

“I still wish you would have brought Mae with you,” Thea said with a sigh. “I already told all my friends that they could come over and see her.”

Moira smiled at her ten-year-old daughter, setting the glass of wine she had just taken a sip from down next to her plate. “Thea, we talked about this. Madeleine is a baby. She is not a zoo animal. You can’t just invite friends over to look at her.”

“Nobody wants to believe that I already have a niece, though,” Thea explained, “and we would have been really careful with her.”

“I know that, sis,” Oliver replied, picking at his food, “but it just didn’t work with Felicity’s schedule and coming here just for a weekend would be very exhausting for Mae which is why we decided that she’d better stay in Boston with Felicity.”

He had thought what to say in case someone would ask why Felicity and Mae hadn’t joined him on his weekend trip to Starling, given that Felicity’s mother and stepfather lived here too and everyone always urged them to come over for a visit, so they could see Mae. He had considered telling them the truth, but he remembered very clearly how his mother had always thought he and Felicity were too young and they weren’t going to make it. He didn’t want her to think that she had been right all the time now. Maybe he would talk to his dad about it later when they were alone.

“I am sure during the summer when Oliver and Felicity don’t have classes, they can come over here and bring Mae,” Moira suggested when Thea still didn’t look happy, “or maybe we will go to Boston and visit them there. I have to admit I would like to see my granddaughter again in person someday soon, too.”

Moira gave Oliver a look like she was urging him to name a time and date that would work for them right now. Instead of answering because Oliver knew with how messy things had got between him and Felicity lately nothing seemed sure for him anymore, at least not right now.

After their classes on Friday, Felicity and Mae had taken him to the airport. He had once again made sure that this wasn’t a break up and they were just taking time apart to figure out what they wanted and needed and only when Felicity had reassured him of that once more had he kissed both of them goodbye and checked in for his flight. There was an uncomfortable weight in his stomach that had been there since he had left the two of them. He really didn’t like being apart from them and the fact this his parents and sister kept asking about them really didn’t make it any easier.

“Do you have photos and videos of Mae on your laptop?” Thea asked.

Oliver smiled. “Sure. Felicity made sure I have the newest one saved to show to you guys.”

“Can we see them after dinner?” she asked excitedly.

She just loved knowing that she was an aunt already. What other ten-year-old could say that of herself? Certainly none of her friends because Oliver remembered how Thea had invited a lot of friends to come over when he and Felicity had still been living here in Starling! Thea had kind of made a magnificent spectacle of little Mae. She had shown them to all of her friends, always telling them not to touch her because of the germs on hands. Moira had tried to maKe Thea stop, but Felicity had kind of enjoyed Thea’s adoration for the youngest Queen, especially since Thea had always sensed and accepted when it was getting too much for Mae or she had a bad day and wouldn’t like to have visitors. Besides, it had allowed Felicity and Thea to bond with each other.

“Oh, I fear I will have to abduct Ollie after dinner.”

At the sound of his best friend’s voice Oliver looked up. He smiled and got up when Tommy came closer.

“Good to see you again, man,” he said, hugging Tommy shortly.

“Good to see you again, too,” Tommy replied with a smile. “Sorry for just barging in here. I just figured since my best friend is here again, I could kind of invite myself over for dinner?”

Robert chuckled. “You are always welcome here, Tommy. Please have a seat.”

“I will bring you a table setting, Mr. Thomas.”

“Thanks, Raisa,” Tommy replied. He sat down on the chair next to Thea and mussed up her hair, making her giggle.

“What do you have planned for Oliver and you tonight?” Robert asked and wiped his mouth with his napkin before putting it on his table. When Tommy looked at him with his eyebrows perked up, Robert smiled gently. “You said you were going to abduct Oliver. I guess you have plans?”

“Oh, I thought maybe we could go over to my place and have some fun. Maybe I’ll invite some other guys,” Tommy said, avoiding being too specific about it. “I figured a little welcome-back party might be a cool idea.”

“I am not back,” Oliver hurried to say, the thought making his stomach cramp. “I’m just staying until Sunday and then go back to Boston.”

“Of course,” Tommy said with a frown and shaking his head like he had no idea what Oliver was talking about and he probably didn’t because just like he hadn’t told his parents about the reasons for his spontaneous trip to Starling he hadn’t told Tommy either. “All I am saying is that you are back here for the weekend and I guess that deserves to be celebrated.”

A party was kind of the last thing Oliver needed right now he figured. If it hadn’t been for the parties, he and Felicity wouldn’t need any time for themselves right now because he wouldn’t have kept his phone out of reach and he wouldn’t have forgotten their usual Tuesday evening dates. He really wanted to take time to think about what he wanted and needed. That way he could tell Felicity what was needed for him to be happy and hopefully for them to work things through.

“Maybe tomorrow,” he just replied. “I’m kind of tired tonight.”

“Alright,” Tommy replied, shrugging his shoulders. “Whatever you want.”

The five of them spent the rest of the evening together comfortably. After they had eaten the dessert Raisa had made for them, Thea urged Oliver to finally show them the photos and videos of Mae, so Oliver got his laptop and linked it to the TV in the living room, showing them the photos and videos and telling them everything there was to tell about Mae.

With each photo that showed his daughter’s progression of the last weeks and months, from the tiny newborn she had been to the chubby, nosy girl she was now, Oliver realized more and more how much he really missed her and Felicity. He had never been without them for a little more for a few hours and being apart from them not only for days but several miles was… it wasn’t easy and he couldn’t say he liked it.

Oliver biggest problem was that he didn’t know how to fix what had happened. He knew that Felicity was going to move back to Starling with him if he asked her to. He also knew that she would never blame him for moving back here if they decided to do that. Oliver just didn’t want to believe that the only way for him to be a good partner and a good parent was if he lived in Starling. He didn’t want his devotion to his family to depend on the place they lived. He needed to know that he could be a good partner and parent even when they lived somewhere else.

But what was if maybe he wasn’t and it really all depended on their living situation? He didn’t want to lose Felicity and Mae just because he felt he needed to prove to himself that he could be better. It wouldn’t be fair to either of them to risk what they had for that.

“I think I will head to bed now,” Oliver said, interrupting the conversation that had been going on without him listening. “I am tired and the flight was exhausting, so…”

“Well, it’s time for Thea to go to bed anyway,” Moira said.

“Can’t I stay up a little longer, Mom?”

Moira chuckled, shaking her head. “No, it’s already late. Come on, I will put you to bed.”

Thea sighed, waving goodbye at her father, brother and Tommy before taking the hand her mother held out for her and letting herself be led out of the living room. Oliver looked after them with a smile. Ten years later and he would have to discuss with Mae about bedtime.

“Are you going to walk me to the door?” Tommy asked Oliver.

He nodded. “Sure.”

The two friends walked side by side without saying a word. Oliver considered telling Tommy about why he had come here, but he felt like right now really wasn’t the best time. If he told him, he needed the time to tell him everything and the time for the two of them to actually talk about it. Right now all Oliver wanted to do was getting into bed and pulling the blanket over his head, though.

“I was quite surprised to hear that Felicity didn’t come with you.”

Oliver shrugged his shoulders, opening his mouth to repeat the same lie he had already told everyone else who had asked about Felicity and Mae. He just breathed out a sigh and shrugged his shoulders once more, though. He was tired of telling this lie and pretending that everything was alright in Boston. He was going to tell Tommy the truth tomorrow anyway, so lying about it now would be no good anyway.

“Everything alright at home?” Tommy urged slightly, cocking his head. “I am no expert in relationships or anything, but if you want to talk…”

He left the sentence unfinished, but he didn’t need to say the words for Oliver to know that he was there for him if he needed him. Tommy always was there if he needed him. It was why he was his best friend.

“I’ll tell you tomorrow,” Oliver promised. “Tonight I really just want to go to bed and sleep.”

“Sure,” Tommy agreed with a nod of his head and patted his friend’s back. “Bye, Ollie.”

“Bye, Tommy.”

Oliver waited until the door was shut behind his best friend before he pushed the pockets into his pants and strolled towards the stairs. He considered calling Felicity to check on her and Mae, but he was almost sure that the two of them were already in bed and he didn’t want to wake them. He would call them first thing tomorrow morning.

He had just taken the first steps upstairs when he heard his father’s voice calling out for him quietly. “Oliver, do you have a second?”

Oliver only hesitated shortly before he turned around and strolled into the living room. His father was sitting in the heavy leather armchair, his foot resting on his knee and a glass of scotch in his hand. The older man’s grey eyes took in his son’s appearance carefully. Oliver felt slightly uncomfortable, pushing his hands a little deeper into the pockets of his pants and hunching his shoulders.

“Is something wrong?” Oliver asked, frowning at his dad.

“I was going to ask you the same,” Robert replied, his husky voice calm. “You seemed a little… off this evening, so I wondered if maybe there is anything you would like to talk about.”

When Oliver had been younger, his relationship to his father had been strained. The two just hadn’t gotten along very well and Oliver had always felt like he wasn’t good enough for his dad which had only resulted in him becoming even worse with his partying and bad grades. Only when Oliver had told his parents that Felicity was pregnant and that they had decided to raise their baby together, his relationship with his father had become better. It was like only when Oliver had stood up for his and Felicity’s decision that his father had seen that there was a side to Oliver that accepted responsibilities and that didn’t run when things got hard.

It was kind of ironic, wasn’t it? Oliver had thought his father would be the first to kill him if he found out about Felicity’s pregnancy. Instead he had been the first to support him.

“I screwed up,” Oliver admitted with a sigh, not turning down the chance to talk to his dad. If someone knew about the struggles of being a dad, it had to be him, so he sat down at the armrest of the couch, facing his father and lowering his gaze to the floor. “I disappointed Felicity and myself not once but twice and… I just felt so lost in Boston and… I don’t want to excuse what I did, but it was just so hard, you know? Going to college and being a dad without any friends…”

When his father didn’t reply, Oliver looked up. Robert’s eyes were focused on his son, taking him in over the rim of the glass in his hand. He didn’t say a word, though.

“Don’t want to say anything?” Oliver asked.

Robert chuckled. “It is kind of interesting to see you going through the same things that I went through when I became a dad.”

Oliver frowned. “You want to tell me that you stood up mom during date night and didn’t keep an eye on your phone?”

“No,” Robert replied without hesitation, shaking his head. “I am telling you that when you were born, I struggled with it. I really struggled with the whole package of being a husband and being a father and leading a company and still being myself. I just buried myself in work because that felt like the easiest way. Your mom did a lot of the work on her own with you and yet she took me back in when I was finally able to get my head straight and be a father.”

Oliver’s frown deepened. He had never heard his father admitting a failure of his so openly, especially not when it came to his family. Neither his mother nor he himself had ever mentioned that something like this had happened.

“So you’re telling me that you struggled when you became a dad?”

“Hell yeah I did,” Robert replied with a chuckle, shaking his head. “I don’t like to think about it, but I really did. Everything was so new and I was so afraid that I would do things wrong that I decided not to do them at all in the first place. It was a brilliant logic only that it got me nowhere.”

Oliver smiled at his father’s weak attempt to lighten the mood. “You know, it’s really not about being a dad for me. I love Mae and I love Felicity and I love the life we have. I just… It’s just that finding friends is hard because either they see in me the party boy I was or they hear I am a dad and turn their backs on me. I need to find friends that accept who I am.”

Robert nodded. “It’s good that you know what you need. Now you just need to figure out how to make that work.”

“Yeah, I have been thinking about it,” Oliver replied, moving a hand through his short hair, “but I don’t know.”

“I am sure you will,” Robert told him firmly.

Oliver cocked his head. “No magical solution to my problems?”

“No,” Robert replied with a smile. “Sometimes there are things that people have to go through. This might be one of the things you will have to work through and there is nothing I can help you with other than telling you that you will spend the rest of your life struggling every once in awhile. You will struggle with your studies and your job and your family and with finding a balance for all of that and still find time for yourself at the same time. It’s a lot and it will become too much every once in awhile. The good thing about having a partner is that you have someone to lean on, so I figure that is what you should do. You should lean on Felicity in this. Honesty is the key to every struggle.”

Oliver sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. “I am just not sure how long I can expect Felicity to put up with my struggles.”

“I think Felicity will tell you when she can’t take it anymore,” Robert replied with a gentle smile. “She doesn’t seem like a person who lets herself be treated with less than she deserves or who doesn’t speak her mind.”

“No, she’s… she’s not,” Oliver replied with a smile. “She really isn’t.”

Robert smiled. “See? You two will find a way to make it work. I am sure of that.”

Oliver smiled gratefully for his father’s advice and support. “Thanks, Dad.”

“You know I am always here for you, Oliver,” Robert told him.

“I know, Dad,” Oliver replied, smiling at his father for a moment longer before he sighed. “I’ll go to bed now. Night, Dad.”

“Good night, Oliver.”

So his dad hadn’t always been as confident as he seemed now either, Oliver summarized for himself on his way upstairs. Given that he was successfully leading a company and happily married with two children that probably hadn’t turned out too badly Oliver guessed that there was hope for him too, right? His father had overcome his struggle, so he could to. He just needed to find way to do so.

Luckily, he had all day tomorrow and Sunday to think about it. There weren’t too many options, so it couldn’t be too hard to decide what was the right thing for him to do and to overcome his own struggle.

“Oliver?” his mother held him back right before he was about to close the door behind him.

“Thea asleep?” he asked.

“No, she wanted to read a chapter of her book,” Moira explained with a gentle smile. “She will probably fall asleep in the middle of it, but I didn’t want to deny her. I just wanted to tell you that I will be away tomorrow, so I guess we won’t see each other before dinner. Or will you have dinner with Tommy?”

“I haven’t decided yet,” Oliver replied. “Where are you going, though?”

“Oh, I will meet some friends to plan a charity event and we decided to meet early because there is still a lot to decide,” Moira replied. “If I had known earlier that you’d come visit us, I would have-“

“It was a spontaneous idea,” Oliver interrupted her.

“I know. I didn’t mean to make it sound like a reproach.” Moira smiled and pulled her son into a short hug. “Good night, Oliver.”

“Night, Mom.”

When Oliver closed the door behind him, he took a look around in his room and sighed once more. It had been a long time since he had slept alone in a bed the last time. He doubted that sleep was going to come easily today, but it hadn’t come easily these last nights in Boston either. There were just too many things on his mind.

After he had taken off his clothes, washed his face and brushed his teeth, Oliver slipped under the blanket on the right side of the bed that was his in Boston. He stared at the empty side for a short moment before he turned onto his other side and closed his eyes. He needed some tight sleep, so he could refocus his energy on find a solution to his struggle tomorrow. He really wanted to fix things, so he could go back home to his family.

Oliver sighed and the with thought of Felicity and Mae welcoming him back home in only a couple of days he fell asleep only a little later.

 

 

Felicity woke up to two little hands on her cheeks and a warm, wet mouth closed around her nose. When Mae’s tongue darted out to lick over the tip of her nose, Felicity opened her eyes with a chuckle. Mae pulled away at the same time, smiling at her mother happily.

“Morning, Sweetie,” Felicity said with a smile, reaching out a hand and pulling Mae close until she was lying on top of her. Her tummy pressed to Felicity’s chest as the little girl stayed propped up on her forearms. That way she could lean her face over Felicity’s and smile at her mother. “It’s very nice of you to wake mommy up with a kiss like that when daddy’s not here.”

Her gaze moved to the empty side of the bed where Oliver usually slept. She had managed to endure the sight of the empty half of the bed for almost forty minutes last night before it had become too much and she had gotten Mae here into bed, so she wouldn’t be alone. She should probably be proud because she had made a bet with herself when she had slipped under the blanket, thinking that she wouldn’t last thirty minutes alone in bed.

She hated being apart from Oliver. She was so used to his presence that she felt like he had left a void when he had gone to Starling. He had only left yesterday in the early afternoon and he was coming back by tomorrow evenings, but she still missed him.

“Dada,” Mae said, pulling Felicity from her thoughts.

She smile, clapping her hands with excitement. “Yes, you are comforting mommy because dada is not here.”

Mae had started saying ‘dada’ a lot lately. Felicity knew that it was going to take a few more weeks or even months for her little girl to refer to her daddy with that and hence say her first real word. It didn’t mean that Felicity wouldn’t be excited about every little step on the way to that.

When Mae rested her head against Felicity’s chest with a sigh, she gently moved her fingertips through her daughter’s curly hair. She glanced at her watch. It was almost ten by now, so that probably counted as an acceptable hour to wake somebody up at a Saturday morning. She puckered her lips for a moment before ducking her head to look at her relaxed baby girl and eventually asked, “Mae, what do you think about calling daddy?”

“Dada?”

“Yes, daddy,” Felicity smiled, realizing that Mae’s first word would probably come rather sooner than later. “Come on, we will call him.”

Tightening her arm around her Mae’s back, Felicity sat up in bed. She rested head back against the headboard and crossed her legs, pulling Mae close, so she could sit on her mother’s ankles with her back resting against her mother’s chest. Felicity reached out for her phone and started the video call with Oliver, holding the phone, so the camera would show both, Mae and her. As soon as the call was set up, the display of her phone went black for the beat of a second before Oliver’s face showed up.

“If those aren’t my two favorite girls in the world,” Oliver said with a sleepy smile and Mae giggled in response, reaching out her hands for the phone.

“Hi,” Felicity said with surprise. “Did you sleep with your phone in your hand?”

Oliver chuckled, turning onto his back and sitting up in bed. “No, I just woke up and wanted to call you when I got your call. Have you been awake for long?”

“No, Mae just woke me,” she replied with a smile and kissed their daughter’s head, “and we figured there is no other way of starting the day but talking to daddy, right?”

Saying these last words, Felicity tickled Mae’s side and with an amused giggle, she kicked her feet. Once again she tried to reach out for the phone, but Felicity held it right out of her baby’s reach.

“Did you sleep in mommy’s and daddy’s bed last night?” Oliver asked and when Mae giggled once more, he added, “That’s really nice of you to take care of mommy while I am in Starling. Everyone here has been asking for you. You have your own little fan club.”

Felicity chuckled. “I am not surprised by that.”

Oliver’s gaze moved from Mae to Felicity. He looked at her with a slight smile on his lips that took her breath away. Then he sighed. “I miss you, the both of you.”

“We miss you, too,” Felicity replied with a quiet sigh, smiling longingly. “It is why Mae had to sleep here in bed because- Hey, what are you doing?”

While she had been talking to Oliver, Mae had crawled forward until she had reached Felicity’s hand and before she could have reacted, her daughter had already ended the phone call by pushing the tip of her nose against the display of the phone. Now Mae sat on the mattress and stared at the black display where her daddy’s face had been a couple of seconds before. She released a whining sound and turned her head back to her mother.

“Yeah, you ended the phone call with daddy,” Felicity told her. “Now we need to- No, you are a lucky girl. Daddy is already calling back. Hi, sorry, Mae ended the call.”

“I realized that,” Oliver replied with a chuckle before he looked at Mae with playfully narrowed eyes. “Don’t you want to talk to daddy or do you just not want to share mommy?”

Mae squealed and looked at her mother, making Felicity chuckle. “You are enjoying the girls weekend at least a little bit, are you?”

“I am sure she does.”

“Like I said she misses you nonetheless.” Felicity smiled and leaned forward, bring her face on one level with Mae’s. “Mae, say ‘daddy’. Say ‘daddy’. I swear she said ‘dada’ again a right before I called you. Mae, say- Aaaand you ended the phone call again.”

Felicity sighed and put an arm around Mae’s stomach to pull her closer to her and further away from the phone. The girl released a dissatisfied sound and reached out her hand for the phone once more, but Felicity shook her head.

“No, no. You can’t kiss daddy like that, Mae. You will just end up ending the call with daddy again and again,” Felicity told her. As soon as the last syllable had fallen from her lips, her phone vibrated once more when Oliver called her back again, this time without video. “Hi, sorry. She wants to kiss you and always ends up ending the call.”

Oliver chuckled. “Well, you can give her a big kiss from me later.”

“Oh, she will get the biggest of all kisses.”

“Just keep some of the kiss for yourself,” he replied and she could hear the smile in his voice, “because I would kiss the both of you if I could right now.”

“I know.” Felicity sighed. She hesitated for a moment before she asked him, “Did you have time to think yet?”

“Not much,” Oliver responded with a sigh of his own. “I had a talk to my dad yesterday, though. I think that helped me clearing at least some things up a little for me. I will meet Tommy later today and talk to him and hopefully after that everything is going to fall back into place.”

Felicity nodded slowly. She knew she probably shouldn’t urge him, but she couldn’t stop herself. “I guess it feels good being back in Starling?”

Oliver hesitated to answer and Felicity was sure he knew as much as she did that his answer was going to hold some weight. Since the question whether they should go back to Starling was still in the air, the answer to this question probably held more meaning than one could think.

“It’s good seeing my parents, Thea and Tommy again, but… I am not sure Starling is still my home,” Oliver replied, avoiding giving a definite answer.

Felicity smiled. “Well, you still have time to figure it out.”

“Yes, I do.” Oliver was quiet for a short moment before he changed the subject, asking, “What are Mae and you going to do with the rest of the day?”

“Laurel wanted to come here and take us shopping,” Felicity explained. “I thought that was a good way to keep us busy.”

“Sounds like you will have a lot of fun.”

“Hopefully,” Felicity replied. She was about to repeat that she missed him when Mae started crying. “I need to hang up now. Mae needs her breakfast or she is-“

“No, of course,” Oliver hurried to say. “I will just call you again later today, okay?”

“Yes, sure.”

“Give Mae a kiss from me,” Oliver asked.

“I will,” Felicity promised. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Felicity felt like she wanted to say so much more, but Mae’s increasingly dissatisfied whining stopped her from doing so. Instead she just sighed. “Okay, we’ll talk later. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Ending the phone call, Felicity threw her phone to the end of the bed carelessly and got up with Mae on her hip. She bounced the girl up and down a little until the whining had almost stopped. Then she smooched Mae’s lips gently until she giggled.

“That was from daddy,” Felicity told her. Mae squealed happily and took a strand of Felicity’s hair to chew on it. Felicity chuckled. “I know you are hungry, but is it really that bad already?”

Felicity put the little girl in the highchair, gave her a plastic spoon and plastic bowl to play with and started preparing the bottle of milk for her. Mae played on the bowl with the spoon like on a drum and squealed happily.

“Are you making music?” Felicity asked her with a smile and Mae giggled. “Well, I have no idea where you got your talent in music from because I can tell that I don’t play an instrument and I think your daddy told me that he gave up on the piano lessons after three weeks.”

Mae kept making music a little longer before she started getting impatient. They really needed a new water boiler since this one wasn’t going to work much longer Felicity feared. She pushed the bowl from the table of the highchair and let the spoon follow, releasing a loud whine.

“Hey, we are not whining or throwing things just because we are a little morning grouch,” Felicity told Mae, but the little girl released another sound of dissatisfaction. “Okay, okay, I think the only thing that is going to help us now is a dance party, isn’t it?”

She switched on the radio and turned up the volume before lifting Mae out of the chair and into her arms again. Felicity swayed in time with the music, making sure that Mae bounced up and down on her hip as much as possible. She took her baby’s hand and swirled around until Mae started laughing and Felicity joined into the carefree moment easily.

Only a couple of moments later the water was heated and Felicity filled it into the bottle, closed it and started shaking. Mae reached out her hand for the bottle already, but Felicity shook her head. “It’s too hot yet, Mae. We have to wait a little.”

Again Mae started whining, so Felicity bounced Mae up and down on her hip once more. While they were dancing through the kitchen, waiting for the milk to cool down a little, there was a knock at the door.

Felicity gasped for breath dramatically, looking at Mae with wide eyes. “Do you think Uncle John heard that we are doing a dance party and now he wants to come join us? I could swear that Uncle John has a great hip swing. I am sure he would have become a dancer in another life and-“

When Felicity opened the door, still talking to Mae about John and the dance moves she was sure he kept secret, she stopped. She had actually been sure that it was indeed John since he had told her he would stop by this morning to make sure everything was alright. The more surprised she was when it wasn’t her friend smiling at her gently.

“Moira.”

“Hello, Felicity,” Moira replied. When Mae squealed, she looked at her granddaughter, her smile growing even warmer if possible. “And good morning to you, little Madeleine, though you really aren’t that little anymore after all, are you?”

“No, she really isn’t,” Felicity said almost a little lamely.

What was Moira doing here? Felicity remembered very clearly the last time Moira had waited for Felicity to be alone to visit her. Back then she had offered her a lot of money if she told Oliver that the baby wasn’t his, went to Boston and never saw him again. A lot of time had passed since then. Moira had accepted Oliver’s and Felicity’s decision and she had very much did everything in her power to make up to her son and his girlfriend for what she had done. She had been a great support for them, always helping out with a hand or an advice if it was needed or wanted. She had even become best friends with Donna.

Yet Felicity felt like it was kind of suspicious she was here now, wasn’t it? Oliver was home in Starling, visiting the other part of his family and his friend because he was struggling with the situation here in Boston, and Moira used this first crack in Oliver’s and Felicity’s relationship to come here? Felicity really didn’t have a good feeling about this and her fingers tightened around the door handle in response while she was simultaneously pushing her hip back a little and with that bringing some more distance between Moira and Madeleine.

Moira seemed to sense Felicity’s discomfort because she lifted her hands to show that she meant no bad. She even took a little step back.

“I went back and forth whether or not to come here,” Moira admitted, “but I figured that after I made the terrible mistake of trying to-“

When Ms. Hendricks, the older woman that lived in the apartment on top of theirs, came downstairs, Moira stopped to give Ms. Hendricks a friendly nod of her head and smile at her in greeting. Once Ms. Hendricks was out of sight, Moira looked back at Felicity. She smiled hesitatingly.

“Do you want to come in?” Felicity asked.

“Thank you.”

Smiling nervously, Felicity took a step aside and opened the door further for Moira to come in. She stepped into the apartment, unbuttoned her coat and put it to the wardrobe without saying a word. When she put her purse to the small table next to the door, she looked at her granddaughter and smiled.

“Do you want to…?”

“I would love to if you don’t mind,” Moira said.

“No, of course not,” Felicity replied and handed Mae over to her grandmother.

“Oh, my beautiful girl,” Moira said with a warmth in her eyes and smile that still felt new to Felicity. “Do you still know who I am?”

“How could she forget?” Felicity asked with a smile. “She loves the video calls with Robert, Thea and you.”

“Well, we love them very much, too. Thea was heartbroken that Oliver didn’t bring Madeleine with him.”

“Maybe next time.” Felicity gestured towards the kitchen. “Come in. Do you want coffee or something? I just got out of bed which probably also excuses why I am not dressed yet.”

“Trust me, when Oliver was a baby, I wore my bathrobe almost all day when I didn’t have to leave,” Moira told her with a chuckle. “Coffee would be nice, though.”

While Moira sat down at the table in the kitchen, feeding her granddaughter the bottle of milk, Felicity brewed the coffee. The two of them were talking friendlily about this and that. Felicity told Oliver’s mother about college and life with Mae, while Moira told her about what had happened in Starling lately.

Once the coffee was brewed, Felicity poured both of them a mug and sat down at the opposite side of the table. She took a sip of the hot liquid, enjoying the taste on her tongue before she put her mug down, held it in both of her hands and looked at Moira with her head cocked.

“I don’t want you to think that I am impolite or anything,” Felicity said hesitantly, a slight frown forming on her forehead, “but… why exactly are you here?”

Moira smiled. She rearranged Mae’s position on her lap, keeping her granddaughter close to her chest, before she explained, “Like I said before, this visit is nothing like the last time I came to visit you on my own. It’s quite the opposite actually?”

Felicity’s frown deepened. “I… don’t understand.”

Moira’s smile widened. She tightened her arm around Mae before she reached out a hand for Felicity and took one of her hands from around the mug to hold it between her fingers instead.

“Back then I asked you to give up on Oliver,” Moira began, regret visible on her face. “I realized a long time ago that I was absolutely wrong. Asking that from you has been a mistake, not only because it was unfair to you or Madeleine, but also because I know my son would have never been as happy as he has been these last months.”

Felicity smiled gratefully. As much as she had known that Moira was supporting them, hearing her say that she had been wrong and that Felicity and Madeleine were part of Oliver’s happiness, just reached something deep inside of her.

“I am not sure Oliver is still as happy as he used to be,” Felicity admitted in a whisper.

Moira squeezed Felicity’s hand. “He is struggling.”

“I know,” Felicity replied, “and I don’t want to reproach him with that. I understand that he has trouble making Boston feel like his home as long as he doesn’t have friends. It’s just that I offered him to go back to Starling because it will probably be the easiest solution, but he doesn’t-“

“Oliver needs to find a solution to that himself,” Moira told her. “I know it isn’t exactly fair, but as long as he hasn’t found a solution himself, whether it is the one you suggested or something else, he will never be able to fully let go. He needs to find his own way out of it. It was the same with Robert.”

Felicity lowered her gaze to the tabletop for a moment before looking back up with a deep frown. “So what do you suggest I do? Sit back and do nothing?”

“That would be impossible to do, wouldn’t it?” she asked with a comforting smile and squeezed Felicity’s hand. “So it’s not what I will ask you to do. Instead I want to ask you to be patient with Oliver because he might need some time to figure out what he wants and needs and for things to work out again. I know my son has never been as much in love with anyone as he is in love with you. I see the way he looks at you and I know he would never be happy with anyone else. He loves you and Mae more than anything. It’s why I am asking you to hold on a little longer. I know Oliver is trying to figure things out and he is giving his best, but… yeah, it might take a little longer.”

Felicity nodded slowly. She knew Moira was right and that was probably the best she could do. It was much easier said than done, though. She didn’t want Oliver to struggle because it hurt her seeing him struggling. At the same time she didn’t want to get hurt again like she had when he had stood her up.

“I’ll do my best,” she whispered eventually.

“That’s all one can do,” Moira assured her. “You know, I never thought you and Oliver would manage life with college and baby as well as you do. Really, you are doing a great job here. I just don’t want the two of you to forget that you are still young after all. You are not in your thirties. You don’t have to have your life perfectly under control. Honestly, nobody ever has their life perfectly under control, no matter the age. You are doing everything you can and that is more than one can say of most people. It’s okay to struggle from time to time. That is why you have friends and family to lean on.”

Felicity smiled, tears springing to her eyes. She had always known that Moira had to be a good mother. Why else would she have been Oliver favored parent most of his life? This felt like the first time that Felicity really saw what Moira was like as a mother and yes, she saw exactly what Oliver saw in his mother.

“Thank you, Moira.”

Moira shook her head. She smiled at Mae for a moment, kissing the baby’s temple, before she looked back at Felicity and said, “You and Mae are part of the family now and I will always be here for my family. So if there is anything I can do for you, if it’s money or a babysitter for an evening or maybe even a full time nanny to help out with Mae, you can always come to me. Same is when you just need an ear to listen or a shoulder to lean on, okay?”

Quickly Felicity smiled and wiped away a tear that rolled down her cheek. Moira squeezed her hand once more.

“Felicity, no matter what happens between you and Oliver, you and Madeleine will always be family to me, and you can always count on me.”

Felicity took in a deep, sniffling breath and put her free hand to the back of Moira’s, holding her hand in both of hers. It was the first time Felicity realized that no matter what would happen, she would always have so much support around her and more importantly Madeleine would have so much support. She would always have both parts of her family.

Felicity shook her head lightly, shaking the thought off. Oliver wasn’t going to leave them, so Mae was never going to lose any part of her family anyway because unlike Felicity’s dad Oliver would never leave them and Mae would never have to grow up without her dad.

All Felicity had to do was doing as Moira had suggested. She just needed to be patient for a little longer and that she could do.

 

 

Oliver stepped outside and took in a deep breath of fresh air. The air in Tommy’s living room had been used up for hours now, sweat and smoke mixing with breaths of alcohol and leaving a terrible stench. He had felt the need to escape outside on the terrace for awhile now, but only now he had made his way outside after he had been held back by so many of his former friends before.

Oliver went to the railing and spilled the rest of his warm coke into the next flowerbed. With a sigh he sat down on the cool stones and closed his eyes for a moment.

When Tommy had invited him over to spend the evening with some old friends from high school and some of his new friends from college, Oliver hadn’t thought that Tommy was actually throwing a party in the old style like they had done in high school. Since his father had never been around often and his mother had died when he had been a young boy, Tommy had always suggested that his house should be used as their private party location. The Merlyn’s had the money to make the evenings good and there was nobody around to stop them.

In high school it had been kind of cool but now? Oliver had come to Starling to avoid any more parties and actually think about what he wanted and needed, not to go to even more parties. He knew already that they didn’t exactly hold the key to happiness for him. Since the party had been in full swing, he had just talked to some people, drunken his coke and left at the first opportunity possible.

With a low sigh Oliver pulled out his phone and scrolled through the last photos Felicity had sent him today. She had kept him updated with photos almost every hour like he could miss any important step on her development. Oliver didn’t mind, though. He couldn’t have enough photos of his girls anyway.

When he reached the last photo he had taken himself, right before he had left, his thumb stroked over the display where it showed Mae’s rosy cheek. The way his daughter looked at him with so much adoration in her gaze warmed his heart. Even when he had been wrong to Felicity, it hadn’t changed the way Mae saw him. That was what always made him go on and what made him wanting to be even better. He didn’t want to ever have to face a moment when his daughter wouldn’t look at him like that anymore.

Oliver swiped his thumb over the display to look at the next photo of Felicity and Mae in bed, sleeping snuggled up to each other. God, he missed them so much!

“You know, for someone who said he needed a little space from Boston, you are surely hanging onto Boston a lot,” Tommy said, interrupting Oliver’s thoughts as he stepped outside and shut the terrace door behind him. “Not that I complain or want to reproach you with that because I know everything you really care about is in Boston.”

Tommy emptied his glass of coke – just like Oliver he hadn’t drunken a sip of alcohol tonight – and slowly strolled towards his friend. He sat down on the cool stones of the railing next to Oliver and leaned over to take a look at the display. He just smiled at the picture of Felicity and Mae both laughing with each other.

“The only real question is if everything you love is in Boston then why are you here?” Tommy asked, cocking his head. “I can certainly say that from the way I see it, you are just making problems where there really aren’t any.”

Oliver huffed out a laugh, not looking at his friend. “I wish there really weren’t any.”

Tommy stayed silent. Oliver turned his head to look at his friend and found him just looking at him with perked up eyebrows. It almost made Oliver smile. Tommy knew him better than anyone and he was always there for him.

“I was struggling with finding friends and when I finally thought I found some, it was the wrong ones, so I ended up hurting Felicity and now I am here to figure out what I really want and need to be happy again and I have no idea because part of me thinks I just need to find new friends, but some other part knows that it’s easier said than done and the only real friends I seem to have are you and John, but you are here and John is so much older than me and-“

“Felicity is rubbing off on you a lot, isn’t she? And I do not mean that in any sexual context,” Tommy interrupted him, his eyes widening. “How about you start a new sentence before I can’t follow anymore?”

Oliver pressed his lips together and pulled them into his mouth. This really was happening to him more and more now. Felicity was rubbing off on him a lot and only in the best way.

“I just feel like I need friends my age, but I am not sure I can really find any easily,” Oliver said with a sigh. “Like I said I thought I had found some. We just hang out together, drinking every once in awhile. It was really a lot of fun for awhile, but- why are you looking at me like that?”

“You were partying?”

Oliver frowned, shrugging his shoulders. “Yeah, why? We did that in high school, too. You are still doing it.”

“Well, first of all  _ I _ was partying in high school,” Tommy said. “You were partying for a few months and then you found Felicity and avoided all the parties to hang out with her in the library or wherever else. Really, I haven’t seen you on any party in the last year of high school.”

Oliver nodded with a sigh because he knew Tommy was right. His last year of school had realy been all about Felicity. Even before they had gotten together, he had stopped partying. It hadn’t even always been to spend time with Felicity instead since they hadn’t met that often to keep their relationship a secret. He had just trained or done other stuff without any responsibility as a dad.

He huffed out a dry laugh, shaking his head, and rubbed his hands over his face. So this whole going back to old ways had been completely useless not just because he was a dad now and that had changed him, but because Oliver hadn’t been that guy in like forever.

“Secondly,” Tommy added after a long moment, “partying really isn’t everything, and you shouldn’t fight the love for your family just because you think that maybe college life should be like that. One party is just like the other, but what is a day with your family instead?”

Oliver nodded. “Yeah, I know. I just figured it might be a good way to find new friends and it seemed like fun when I was there.”

“Trust me, after a couple of parties it just gets boring,” Tommy replied with a sigh. “It really isn’t all that fun.”

Oliver frowned, turning to take a close look at his friend. Tommy avoided his gaze, though, looking into the dark garden instead. Yet Oliver didn’t miss the sadness in Tommy’s eyes.

“Any deeper meaning to that?” he asked.

Tommy took in a deep breath and puckered his lips, obviously considering whether or not to answer. It took almost half a minute before he asked in a whisper, “How’s Laurel?”

Oliver knew he shouldn’t be surprised. Tommy and Laurel broke up a long time ago, but Oliver had never really doubted that Tommy still loved Laurel. He had just never thought his friend would ever admit that he kind of did want them to try again. So far whenever Oliver had asked him about Laurel, Tommy had either avoided answering or right out told him that he didn’t want to get back together with Laurel.

“You still love her,” Oliver said eventually, not needing to ask.

“Probably.” Tommy shrugged his shoulders. “The thing is that my ways with partying were one of the main reasons why things didn’t work out with us. Looking back now, I’d give the parties up to be with her in a heartbeat. I kind of envy the relationship you and Felicity have… except for the baby because that really is one level of craziness too much for me.”

“Craziness?”

When Oliver cocked his head, perking up an eyebrow, Tommy chuckled. “No offense.”

Oliver shook his head with a chuckle. There really was no offense taken.

“I know that partying isn’t the right way to find friends now,” Oliver eventually said with a sigh. “I am just not sure if I should give Boston another chance or not. I know MIT is Felicity’s dream and I don’t want to take that from her. She told me so many times that it’s okay for her to move back here, but I don’t know… Would you ask Laurel to give up Harvard just because you had trouble finding friends? But then again I know I have messed up already and don’t want to make it worse or keep dangling maybes and-“

“Okay, before you talk yourself into another one of those rambles,” Tommy interrupted with a sigh, “what if I told you that I will move to Boston.”

Oliver perked up his eyebrows. “You will?”

Tommy shrugged his shoulders. “I might have had some trouble at college and got… kicked out or something…”

“You what?”

Tommy waved it off quickly. “Anyway, since I realized that I would like to try again with Laurel, I figured moving closer to Harvard would be a good idea and Boston has a lot of good colleges. Besides, if I can help my best friend with his family…”

“You are really going to move to Boston?”

Tommy nodded. “I will, but I am not going to babysit or hold Mae. Really, she is freaking me out.”

“You’re saying,” Oliver replied with a chuckle, shaking his head.

Tommy grinned. “Does that help with your problems?”

“It helps a lot,” Oliver said seriously. “Thank you so much.”

“That’s good,” Tommy replied, nodding his head. “And now?”

“Now,” Oliver replied, patting his best friend’s back, “I am going back home to book an earlier flight and go back home to Boston to my girls as soon as I can.”

Tommy chuckled. “Tell Felicity and Mae I said hi.”

“I will,” Oliver replied, getting up and already walking to the door where he turned back to him. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am, Tommy.”

“It really is no big deal. Friends help each other out, don’t they? That being said if you could maybe put in a good word for me with Laurel…”

“Consider it already done,” Oliver assured. “I don’t think you will need anyone to put in a good word for you, though. I am sure you will convince Laurel to try again all on your own.”

“Good to know,” Tommy said. “Now go and book the first flight available. I am sure you have two girls waiting for you already.”

“I do,” Oliver agreed with a smile, turning around and heading to walk around the building to head back to the mansion, mumbling to himself, “and I can’t wait to be back with them.”


	9. Chapter 9

“Oh, that sounds really bad.”

Felicity zipped up Mae’s jacket, turning her head over her shoulder to look at Ray, who frowned worriedly. Curtis had been supposed to meet them here in the park to study ten minutes ago. He hadn’t shown up, though, which was anything but usual for him. That was why she had told Ray to call him and check what was going on. If the expression on his face was any indication, it wasn’t something good.

“Oh, oh, sounds like something is wrong with Curtis,” Felicity whispered, looking at Mae with wide eyes. The young girl only released an unhappy whine and rubbed her face in the plush of the pink octopus. “Yeah, mommy knows your gum hurts.”

Mae was in another painful stage of teething again. She had barely slept last night and her nap this afternoon had been cut short, too. Now she was tired and whiny, while Felicity was just exhausted. Since Mae hadn’t slept, Felicity hadn’t gotten any sleep either. Teething really was a nightmare for everyone involved.

Felicity grabbed the pacifier that was attached to a chain on Mae’s jacket and pushed the silicon between her daughter’s lips. When Mae leaned back in her stroller, snuggling her reddened cheek to her pink octopus, Felicity stroked her fingers over the baby’s hair comfortingly.

“Binky is making it a little better, right?” she asked her daughter, tapping her finger against the plastic of the pacifier shortly. “Don’t worry. Daddy’s coming back tonight right before you will have to sleep. I am sure he is going to put to you bed. That’s going to make it better, too. Everything’s better when daddy’s home.”

“Dada,” Mae said.

“Yes, daddy is coming home tonight,” Felicity promised, reminding herself for the umpteenth time to not get too hopeful about her baby’s babbling actually being a word. She knew it would still take a little time. “You missed him as much as mommy did, right?”

These last few days without Oliver had only proved how weirdly incomplete their family was without him here. Felicity felt his absence from the cold sheet on his side of the bed to Mae’s slightly different behavior in every part of their life. She knew that they still had to find a solution to their situation, but for now she was just happy when he was back with them and their family was complete again.

“Tell him to get better soon,” Ray said at the phone and Felicity took the heavy book she had put on the floor to zip up Mae’s jacket, she took it under her arm and straightened up from her crouched position in front of her daughter. “Yeah, of course. Bye, Curtis.”

“What happened?” Felicity asked him, pushing the stroller back and forth with one arm.

“Paul sprained his ankle,” Ray explained.

“Ouch.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much what I said.”

When Mae released a low whine, Felicity nodded her head forward. She knew that if they started walking, Mae would eventually grow a little more content. She just didn’t like to be bored and staying in the same spot for too long was boring for her. Just pushing the stroller back and forth the length of an arm wasn’t going to do the trick of getting her to be quiet.

“Is Paul going to be okay?” Felicity asked, starting to walk slowly.

“Yes, he’s going to be fine,” Ray assured, “but he’s not coming.”

“Understandably.” She chuckled, shaking her head. “Don’t we all have complicated and dramatic relationships going on or not going on right now?”

Ray cocked his head. “Things between you and Oliver are still not right?”

“They are going to be,” Felicity said with a certainty in her voice that almost surprised her a little. “He’s coming back tonight and I guess we get to talk tomorrow if not today and then everything will be okay again. We have kind of been through too much to give up on our relationship. Besides, we also have too much that connects us to just give up.”

“So you two are just holding on to your relationship because of Mae?”

“No.” Felicity shook her head firmly. “No, absolutely not. She is a factor in all of this, but she isn’t the only factor. Oliver and I love each other and even if Mae wasn’t in our life, I would want to fix our relationship. He and I, we just… I know it’s corny, but we are just made for each other. We are a perfect match.”

Felicity smiled for a moment before she lowered her gaze, feeling a blush spreading on her cheeks. Though her words were true and she felt the honesty of them in her heart, it was still weird saying them out loud. Even if her only audience was a friend who would never hold it against her, she felt like it was terribly just corny to say such things.

“What about you and Anna?” she asked eventually. “Any new developments between the two of you?”

“No,” Ray replied with tense voice, directing his gaze in the distance. “We still haven’t really talked since the breakup. I guess Anna is still trying to find herself.”

Felicity snorted, shaking her head slightly. She still thought it was weird that Ray’s ex had felt the need to break up with him because she wanted to find out who she was. Of course starting college changed things and sometimes you discovered new things about yourself, but Felicity still didn’t see any necessity for a breakup. Maybe Anna just hadn’t felt as sure about her relationship with Ray as Felicity was about her relationship with Oliver. Poor Ray.

She put a hand to his shoulder, squeezing gently. “She will find her way back to you and if she doesn’t, then she just isn’t the right girl for you.”

Ray sighed, coming to a stop and turning around to her. “It’s just… I saw my life with Anna. I thought we would be together and get married and have kids one day. I was ready to plan all of that even if not put it into action just yet. Now I wonder if maybe I was only a diversion for her, someone to kill time with until something better is offered or someone actually.”

Felicity gave him a comforting smile and squeezed his shoulder once more. “If she doesn’t see that you are a great guy, it’s her loss. You will find someone who appreciates you the way you deserve it.”

Her smile widened, while Ray was just looking at her with an almost unreadable expression in his eyes. Felicity was about to make a joke about how they were actually not supposed to discuss their complicated and distracting relationships and she lifted the book from under her arm to wave it in front of Ray’s face as a reminder why they had come here in the first place. Before she got to do that, though, Ray suddenly leaned closer. It took Felicity only the break of a second to get what he was trying to do, but after the short moment of shock, she tightened her hold on the book about cyber security and hit him right into his face.

“What the hell, Ray?”

He was groaning in pain, staying bent doubled over and holding a hand to where the book had crashed against his jaw. Felicity couldn’t exactly bring herself to feel sorry for him. She just frowned, shaking her head and wondering what the hell had just happened. Like a second ago she had told Ray that she loved Oliver and that they were basically it for each other and then she said one nice word about him and he thought she was available?

“I really don’t know what just got into me,” Ray said, slowly straightening back up and revealing the red, swollen skin on his face. He looked at her with true regret in his eyes. “I think my mind went blank there for a moment and then missing Anna and your sweet words all concurred and somehow I-“

“-thought sticking your tongue into my mouth would be a good idea?” Felicity asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“I just-“

When Felicity just perked up her eyebrow, really not interested in hearing another excuse for why Ray had thought it was a good idea to kiss her, he squeezed his eyes shut and sighed. He moved a hand through his dark hair before he opened his eyes again and took in a deep breath.

“I am really sorry, Felicity.”

“Yeah,” she just said. “That really doesn’t make it better right now. I mean… I thought we were friends, but if you can’t see the difference between-”

Ray nodded slowly, holding up his hands to make her stop. “I guess I better leave.”

“Agreed,” Felicity replied briefly.

“I’m really sorry.”

“You said that already.”

Ray nodded once more. “Are we still friends?”

“I am not sure,” Felicity replied honestly. “I… I think you should go home and think about what you want and maybe recall what should be boundaries in a friendship. I’ll give you the following hint, kissing a friend who is just trying to comfort you about heartbreak? Deal breaker.”

“I can’t tell you often enough how sorry I am.”

“Yeah, the repetition doesn’t make it better.”

“I know I-“

“Please just go away now,” Felicity said between clenched jaws.

Ray looked at her for a moment longer, pushing his hands into the pockets of his jeans. When Felicity gave him a look that didn’t miss to make him know that she was serious and she really wanted him to leave, he nodded once more and turned around. Felicity rolled her eyes, shaking her head. She waited until Ray was out of sight before she crouched down in front of Mae. Felicity put the book, which had served as a great weapon she had to admit, into the basket at the bottom of the stroller and looked at her daughter.

“Sometimes men are so, so stupid,” she told Mae, who smiled at her mother behind her pacifier and tightened her hold on the pink octopus with a sigh, “and though mommy is really smart, sometimes she really doesn’t get what is going on in their heads.”

“It’s probably because the guys are stupid and you are too smart to follow their stupid ways of thinking.”

Felicity straightened up and turned around. She smiled when she saw Oliver standing a few feet away, his hands pushed into the pockets of his pants. She was smiling shyly, his shoulders slightly hunched. He looked tired and exhausted with dark rings under his eyes and tousled hair, but that didn’t hide how handsome he really was. Seeing him again and seeing him looking at her with eyes that shone with love made Felicity’s stomach flutter with thousands of butterflies.

“Nice hit by the way. That makes accepting that I won’t get to punch him easier.”

Felicity needed a second before she could make sense of his words. She turned her head over her shoulder like she could see herself hitting Ray with the book there before she looked back at Oliver and massaged the back of her neck uncomfortably.

“Oh, that… that wasn’t… I… It really wasn’t what it looked like and-“

“It looked like Ray tried to kiss you and slapped him away with a book, telling him you have no interest in him.”

“In that case it was exactly what it looked like,” Felicity replied with a chuckle before she sighed. “I really have no idea what has gotten into him. I have never got any vibes that he would be interested in me, but then I am so very not interested in him that really I wouldn’t be surprised if I had missed it. I… I guess I won’t see him again.”

“If you think that is the best,” Oliver responded, shrugging his shoulders. “I trust you to find the best way to deal with this.”

Felicity smiled and Oliver smiled back at her. Neither of them said a word for a long moment and Felicity felt her heartbeat quickening in response. The way he looked at her, the way he had always looked at her, just took her breath away still.

After a long moment Oliver finally came closer. He put an arm around her waist, pulling her against him, and Felicity straightened up on the tip of her toes to meet his lips halfway. It was a slow and gentle kiss, their lips moving in synch when they opened up to each other’s. Oliver stroked his tongue against hers, eliciting a low moan from her. When their lips parted, Felicity rested her forehead against his, enjoying being so close to him again that they could actually breathe the same air. They had spoken to each other on the phone as often as possible during the weekend, but it just wasn’t the same as actually holding each other in their arms.

“Not that I am complaining,” Felicity said, not pulling back, “but what are you doing here already? I didn’t expect you to be back before eight.”

“That was the plan, but I missed you two so badly that I took an earlier flight.”

Smiling at him brightly, Felicity leaned back in his arms just enough to smile at him. “We missed you, too.”

Just in time to prove her mother’s words right Mae released a sound that called both of her parents’ attention. When they both turned their heads into their daughter’s direction, the eight-months-old reached out her arms for them.

“Hi, my little princess,” Oliver said, stepping away from Felicity and lifting Mae out of the stroller and into this arms. He kissed her rosy cheek, not missing that her skin was slightly warmed. “Hey, are you running a fever?”

“It’s just the teething. I have been checking her temperature regularly to make sure she’s okay,” Felicity explained truthfully. “She is tired and in pain.”

“Did you give mommy trouble?” Oliver asked.

“Dada ba-ba-ba,” Mae babbles, lowering her head with a sad expression in her eyes and resting her forehead against her father’s.

“Yeah, I know your gum hurts, but you can’t give mommy trouble because of that.”

Felicity’s heart warmed at the softness of Oliver’s voice and the intimacy of this conversation between father and daughter. Rationally Felicity knew that Mae didn’t understand much yet, but the emotional side of her refused to believe that right now. The mommy in her wanted to believe that her daughter understood exactly what her daddy was telling her.

“She didn’t give me that much trouble,” Felicity explained.

She rested her chin against Oliver’s shoulder and stroked her fingertips through her daughter’s blonde hair. Oliver wrapped his free arm around Felicity’s shoulders and pulled her close. Sighing contently, Felicity snuggled up against his side. She pressed her nose against his neck and breathed him in. A family hug like this was exactly what she needed, probably what they all needed.

“This is really nice,” Oliver whispered and kissed the crown of her head.

“It really is.” Felicity smiled, leaning her head back to look into his eyes. “How was Starling? Everything still the same there?”

“Mostly,” Oliver confirmed with a sigh. “There really isn’t a lot that has changed there. Our parents and Thea asked me to tell you that the next time you have to be there and they are going to kill both of us if we don’t bring Mae with us. I think they were more disappointed that I came alone than happy that I visited them at all.”

“That sounds a lot like our families,” she replied with a chuckle. She had made the experience that once there was a baby in the family, all grown up kids were kind of uninteresting. Well, she probably couldn’t complain since Mae had a natural talent to wrap people around her little finger with just a smile. “I am sure they were happy to see you, though.”

Felicity hesitated. She didn’t want to think about the future. For just a minute she wanted to keep living in the moment, simply enjoying that their family was reunited. She knew that they couldn’t dance around the problem forever, though. Eventually they had to face the future and it was probably best for all of their sakes if they tried to figure out where exactly this future they were going into together was heading.

“Did it help you?” she asked him, tightening her arm around his waist. “Being back in Starling with your parents and Tommy?”

“Kind of,” Oliver replied.

Felicity frowned and cocked her head. “What exactly is that answer supposed to mean?”

Oliver chuckled and kissed her forehead. “It means that I guess it’s time I’ll take you out to an early dinner, so we talk.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” Felicity agreed with a smile. She tickled Mae’s tummy, saying to the little girl, that had her head rested against her daddy’s shoulder and her tiny fist clenched around the neckline of his shirt, “You can show daddy how good you are at dropping things to the floor over and over again.”

When Oliver gasped for breath dramatically, Mae pulled back to look at him. Felicity couldn’t see her daughter’s lips behind the big pacifier, but given the sparkle in her big, blue eyes, Felicity knew that her little girl was smiling.

“You can do that?”

“Oh, she loves it,” Felicity told him. “She also likes using it to test limits. Yesterday she dropped the spoon I gave her to play with three times though I told her not to.”

“Well, at least you didn’t drop it a fourth time, right?” Oliver asked Mae, bouncing her up and down a little.

“That’s only because she didn’t get the spoon back,” Felicity explained, “which ended in a temper tantrum that was so bad that Lyla actually called and asked if everything was alright because she could hear her down to her apartment. I was just happy that this happened at home and not in public because that would have ended quite embarrassing.”

“You have your own stubborn head and that, my little princess, is exactly how it is supposed to be. Daddy is just like that.” Oliver chuckled and kissed Mae’s temple. “Not that there has ever been any doubt, but you are so clearly my daughter.”

“Yeah, there really has never been a doubt about that.”

“So…” Oliver said slowly, turning back to look at Felicity. “There is a Big Belly’s down at the other end of the park. Does that sound like a good place to talk?”

“Most definitely,” Felicity replied with a smile and kissed Oliver’s jaw before she took the stroller and suggested, “Let’s go.”

 

 

“Mae,” Oliver said in a warning tone. “Daddy said-“

Looking at him challengingly, Mae grabbed the napkin he had just put back to the table for the third time in the last two minutes and dropped it back to the floor. When he perked up his eyebrows at her, she squealed happily, kicking her legs in excitement. Then she looked at where the napkin was lying on the floor and pointed her finger at it, signaling him to get it back. Maybe, if the circumstances had been any different, he would put the napkin to the other side of the table where Mae wouldn’t be able to reach it and put an end to this. Fact was that Oliver was just too happy to be able to spend time with his daughter again to make her stop. So he got the napkin from the floor and put it back to the table.

Mae seemed to consider that a temporary win because instead of trying to rip the fabric away from under her daddy’s hand to drop it once more and make her daddy get it back again, she leaned back against his chest with a content sigh. Oliver smiled, lowering his lips to the crown of her head and kissing her gently. Then he moved his nose against her hair and closed his eyes, breathing her in.

He hadn’t quite understood how much he had really missed Mae and Felicity until he had seen them again in the park. He knew it was stupid, but he was sure that Mae had grown since Friday and he regretted not seeing that development himself. He knew that his time in Starling had really been necessary, though.

At that thought Oliver lifted his gaze from Mae to Felicity, finding her looking at the both of them with an almost reverent smile on his lips. When their eyes met, she bit down on her bottom lip and blushed. Smiling, Oliver watched the red color spreading from her cheeks down the sides of her neck and down her cleavage until it disappeared under the neckline of her dress.

She nipped at her coke, shortly turning her gaze away, probably to gather her thoughts, before she put the glass down, her eyes on the table top and cocked her head. “So…”

Oliver chuckled, knowing it was time for them to talk now. They had spent enough time just enjoying being back together in one place. Now was the time to talk about their future and most importantly where they were spending that.

“I think the first thing I should tell you,” Oliver started quietly, reaching out his free hand on the table, and Felicity put her fingers into his hand without hesitation, “is how truly sorry I am for what happened. There was no moment that made me question that I want to spend my life with Mae and you… and this still isn’t a proposal.”

He had seen the slight moment of panic in her eyes, thinking that he was going to propose now like she had thought the same when they had talked after he had been to one of Sebastian’s parties for the first time. Maybe panic wasn’t the right word, but she had tensed slightly. At his words, however, she chuckled in relief and shook her head.

“I’m sorry. You know I want to spend the rest of my life with you, but marriage is just… I know it looks like-“

Oliver shook his head and squeezed her hand. “I am not really ready for marriage yet, either. Besides, we still have the rest of our lives, right?”

“Right,” Felicity replied with a smile. She stroked her thumb over the knuckles of his hand gently, looking at their joined fingers for a moment, whispering, “The rest of our lives sound good to me.”

Oliver believed in his heart that marriage was where they were heading eventually and he was sure that Felicity felt the same. They had just skipped like a hundred steps in their relationship with having Mae already, so they should try catching up on these before skipping another hundred by getting married. They would know that they were ready when they knew.

They stayed quiet for a moment before Oliver explained, “The problem really wasn’t that I didn’t love you two. It was much more all around. I… You know I had troubles finding friends and-“

“Everyone needs friends, Oliver,” Felicity said quietly. “And I know that I was just very lucky with finding Curtis and… well, probably just Curtis given the newest developments with Ray. Anyway, I understand that you needed friends and that it wasn’t easy for you, but… Is it maybe possible that you haven’t found the right friends yet because from what you told me about Sebastian he just…”

Felicity made a wild gesture that was probably supposed to tell him that there was something weird about Sebastian. She knew that he had tricked him into coming to that first party. Oliver knew that he should have probably realized right there that Sebastian was not going to be a good friend to him. He had been too busy pitying himself for the lack of friends to realize it then, though.

He took in a deep breath and nodded his head. “You are right.”

He could see Felicity release a low sigh that took away some of the tension in her shoulders. She smiled at him and squeezed his hand comfortingly, wordlessly letting him know that she was sorry that he had trusted the wrong people.

“I think I just forgot how much I have changed even before I became a dad and that is why I just found the people I would have spent time with before I met you,” Oliver explained slowly. He knew that he and Felicity had talked about this before he had gone to Starling already, but he felt like they should discuss the whole thing again before talking about the solution just to have it all rounded out. Given that his solution was Tommy moving here and not really something he did he felt it was necessary. “I really just… I let myself be dragged into this old behavior and I thought I enjoyed it, but the truth is that I was just relieved to finally have people around me.”

Felicity smiled at him sadly. “I am sorry you didn’t find the right ones.”

“I am sorry I let myself get carried away and disappointed you.”

“Like I said before, we all make mistakes,” Felicity assured him. “What’s important now is that we figure out what’s necessary to fix this and with ‘this’ I mean the situation itself because there is nothing that needs to be fixed between us. We are perfectly fine at least from my point of view.”

Oliver chuckled and squeezed her hand. “We are perfectly fine from my point of view, too.”

“Good,” Felicity replied with a smile. Their lips met over the table for a short kiss before they both pulled back and Felicity cocked her head. “So how are we going to fix the situation?”

“Tommy is moving to Boston.”

Felicity perked up her eyebrows in surprise. “He is?”

Chuckling, Oliver nodded his head. “Yes. I was just as surprised as you were. For like five seconds I even thought he just wanted to be the selfless one and help out his best friend who is struggling.”

“I am making a wild guess and say he was kicked out of college and his father is so disappointed that Tommy decided it’s better to study somewhere far from home and since you have already kind of settled here, it’s the easiest solution,” she said, narrowing her eyes at him. “How close to the truth am I?”

Oliver chuckled. In the few months he and Felicity had spent in Starling after Mae had been born she and Tommy had finally gotten to know each other. It had been great to watch his girlfriend and his best friend getting along well enough to tease each other. Tommy had openly called her computer engineer Barbie which had been his nickname for her before he had known that Oliver and Felicity were together, and Felicity had teased him with his bad grades and party image.

“Very close.”

Felicity lifted her fist in a triumphant move that made Oliver smile over his entire face. He actually felt little butterflies fluttering in his stomach at the view. There was just something about these little moments, the little details that made Felicity the woman she was, that made him fall in love with her again and again each and every day. He couldn’t see a day in the future that this would change.

“He got kicked out of college-“

“Called it!”

“-but he’s not exactly moving here because of us.”

“Now I am disappointed.”

Oliver chuckled. Was it possible to love this woman any more than he did in this moment?

“He is moving here because of Laurel.”

Felicity perked up an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Yes, really,” Oliver replied, nodding his head slowly. “I think he has finally gotten his head into where it is supposed to be.”

“I am a little bit surprised that he got it out of his-“

“There’s a baby listening here,” Oliver reminded her, knowing quite well what part of his body she believed Tommy’s head had been in these last months since he and Laurel had broken up. He looked at Mae, who was almost asleep by now, whispering, “Did you hear that? Mommy almost said a bad word.”

“Well, she wouldn’t know what it is anyway,” Felicity told him, puckering her lips.

“You never know that. Maybe she is a genius like her mother and then her first word is suddenly a bad word.”

“Probably not, but believe whatever you want to believe, hon.”

Oliver chuckled quietly. He squeezed Felicity’s fingers before letting go of her hand and saying, “I’ll put her in the stroller. If we keep her from sleeping now, she is only going to be grumpy.”

“Yeah,” Felicity said with a sigh, watching him getting up to lie Mae down in her stroller. “It’s probably better thought that means she will most likely be up most of the night and want to play.”

Oliver laid Mae down and stroked his fingertips over her rosy cheek gently. The little girl released a sleepy sigh that put a bright smile to his lips. She was the sweetest girl in the world.

“Don’t worry. I will take care of her,” Oliver promised when he sat back down, his fingers naturally lacing back through Felicity’s. “You can sleep.”

Felicity snorted, giving him a gentle look. “In case you don’t remember from our Saturday and Sunday morning call, I can’t sleep alone in our bed. If you two are awake, so am I.”

“Well, that’s not exactly how I pictured the two of us spending the night together, but I’ll take whatever I can get.”

Felicity perked up her eyebrow. “Who’s the one saying inappropriate things despite Mae being around now?”

Oliver licked his lips, not missing how her eyes darted down to his mouth for a split second. Then he told her with a wide grin, “I was talking about innocent cuddling in bed. I have no idea what your dirty mind made out of that.”

Felicity cocked her head, puckering her lips. They just looked at each other for a long moment before they both chuckled. Oliver leaned over the table and Felicity just smiled at him for a moment before she kissed him. Their life was really complicated at times, but they were strong enough to overcome whatever hurdle life would throw at them. Oliver had never been surer of that than in this moment.

When the waitress cleared her throat, they quickly pulled apart. Oliver noticed Felicity’s blush but didn’t comment on it. He just smiled at her while the waitress was serving the plates with their food. The delicious smell of the French fries and burgers actually made his mouth water. He had barely eaten anything today because he had just been too focused on trying to find the right words for their talk.

Felicity seemed to be equally close to starving because she took one of her fries and quickly pushed it into her mouth. She closed her eyes and hummed at the taste like she had never eaten anything more delicious. Her eyes were still closed when she took a few more fries, ready to push them into her mouth. She had her lips already opened, the fries on their way into her mouth, when she opened her eyes, caught his gaze and stilled.

“Why are you staring at me?”

Oliver chuckled. “It’s just a pleasure to watch you devouring these fries.”

“Are these still inappropriate thoughts?” Felicity asked in a whisper.

Taking one of his own fries, he pushed it into his mouth and grinned at her. “Maybe.”

Felicity took a few fries and threw them at him. “Behave, Mister.”

“Says the woman who is throwing fries at me,” Oliver replied with a chuckle. He reached out his hand for hers, seeking the contact that had broken when they had pulled apart. Felicity put her fingers into his hand and Oliver lifted it to kiss her knuckles. “I missed spending time with you like this.”

Felicity nodded, squeezing his hand. “Yes, so did I. We should do it more often.”

“We definitely should,” Oliver agreed.

They squeezed each other’s fingers once more before letting go to continue eating. They enjoyed their fries and burgers in silence for awhile, but Oliver didn’t mind. The silence between him and Felicity was a comfortable one. He shot a glance at Mae, smiling when he saw her sleeping with her face pressed against the pink octopus. Oliver puckered his lips. He would take his girls to an Aquarium someday soon again. It’s been so long since they had been there the last time.

“You know I was thinking, too,” Felicity said eventually, “while you have been away I mean.”

Oliver perked up his eyebrows. “Shoot.”

“I thought maybe it was time for you to, you know, find a hobby,” she suggested. “In high school you’ve been playing football, so maybe that is something you’d like to go back to. I think it might be a lot healthier than partying and it could also be a lot of fun.”

“I’ve been thinking about it,” Oliver admitted. “Carter suggested it actually to me.”

“Carter Bowen?”

Oliver nodded. “He seems like a good guy.”

“And he hates Max Fuller.”

“Yeah, that’s something I give him very much credit for, too,” Oliver stated with an amused smile. “I am just not sure about joining the team. It would be difficult anyway given why I was kicked out of the team in Starling. Then joining a sports team would also take a lot of time and we already have so little time together with our schedules and-“

“It was just a suggestion,” Felicity told him, holding up a hand to make him stop. “Just think about it. If you want to do it, I am sure we will find a way to make it work.”

Oliver nodded slowly. “Tommy will probably join the team and in case I need someone to put in a good word for me I’d have him and Carter. Maybe if I asked Professor Stein, he would do the same.”

“And you could find friends there.”

“But training at least twice a week, games at the weekends…” Oliver said and took a look at Mae. “I don’t want to leave you alone with all of the work and I also don’t want to miss things with the two of you.”

“We don’t have to decide this right now. All I am saying is that we could find a way if playing football would make you happy.” Felicity smiled, shrugging her shoulders, before she frowned at him slightly. “Who is this Professor Stein, though?”

“He’s my teacher in my class about critical thinking. He kind of really helped me with this whole situation.”

Felicity perked up her eyebrows. “He did?”

Oliver nodded and took a bite from his burger before he explained, “He noticed something was wrong and gave me a book to read and believe it or not it really helped me to figure out what was going wrong and where I belonged.”

“Sounds like he is a good man.”

“He really is. I wish I had had a teacher like him in high school already,” Oliver replied. “He demands a lot from us, but he really helped me here.”

“What book did he recommend to you?”

“ _ The Odyssey _ ,” Oliver replied. “It’s weird because I never thought I would be able to read it, but I did and I actually liked it. I am still not sure that I saw in the story what Professor Stein wanted me to see, but it helped me, so I guess it’s not that- Why are you looking at me like that?”

Felicity’s hand had stilled halfway to her mouth, the fries hovering right in front of her lips. She had her eyes narrowed down on him slightly, staring at him with suspicious eyes.

“Doesn’t Odysseus have an affair with some nymph for several years?”

“And that is one of the parts of the story that I just can’t connect with my life,” Oliver explained. “I mean I had offers-“

“That Carrie B-itch?”

“Yes,” Oliver replied honestly, nodding his head for a moment before shaking it. “But I just have no interest in anyone but you.”

“Awww, that’s sweet,” Felicity said, her eyes still fixed on his face.

Oliver frowned slightly. “You’re still staring.”

“Oh, I am just picturing how I am clawing her eyes out,” Felicity explained, clawing her fingers into the empty air.

“Green cat eyes if that helps.”

“Yes, it does,” Felicity said, nodding while staring into emptiness. When her eyes finally focused back on his eyes, she smiled and released a content sigh. “I am feeling better now that in my head she doesn’t have eyes to cast on you anymore.”

“Sometimes I am little bit scared of you, you know that?” Oliver muttered.

“Like I said before, I can be quite vengeful,” Felicity replied with a smug grin that soon turned into a gentle smile.

Oliver smiled back at her. “Thank you, Felicity, for everything. You have been so understanding this whole time. I guess most others would have already packed their things and ran away.”

“I am not most others.”

“No, you are not,” Oliver replied, his smile growing wider. “Thanks for still wanting me.”

“Never been a question.”

Oliver took in a deep breath, for the first time in months feeling completely relaxed and happy. Tommy was going to move here. Things between him and Felicity were talked out and getting back to the way they were supposed to be now. The future was going to be good for them. They had had enough drama for a lifetime it felt.

“There’s just one thing I need to ask from you,” he said eventually.

Felicity nodded. “Everything.”

“The next time we fight, please don’t let us take time,” he asked. When Felicity frowned, he added, “I want you to feel able to yell at me without fearing that this is going to break us and I want to feel able to do the same.”

Felicity bit down on her bottom lip. “What about Mae?”

“Well, I don’t want to argue in front of her, but I just feel like our relationship needs to be strong enough for us to say things out of anger without it ending in a breakup. Please.”

He hadn’t really known how much it had bothered him that every time there was tension between them, they parted ways. Maybe it hadn’t even bothered him much, but it bothered him now. What kind of relationship did they have if they couldn't fight?

Felicity smiled, nodding her head. As long as it isn’t in front of Mae, okay.”

“Thanks,” Oliver said. “I guess all we can do now is to look forward, right?”

“Haven’t we done so the entire time anyway?” Felicity asked, cocking her head.

“Probably,” Oliver agreed.

They smiled at each other for a long moment, quietly putting whatever tension there had been between them in the last weeks to rest and only move forward now. So that was what they were going to do.


	10. Chapter 10

“I’m glad you decided to join the team,” Carter said, looking back over his shoulder at Oliver. Then he reached into his fridge. “Beer?”

“Yes,” Ted Grant replied immediately

“Absolutely,” Alex Davis agreed.

“Not for me, thanks,” Oliver replied, shaking his head.

“Coke?” Carter asked, throwing two beers over his shoulder blindly, but Ted caught both of them without much effort.

“Sure,” Oliver replied and caught the soda Carter passed him.

They all opened their drinks while Carter strolled over from the fridge and slumped down on his couch. He held out his drink for a toast.

“Welcome to the team, Oliver,” he said.

“Thanks,” Oliver responded and took a sip of the ice cold coke.

Four weeks had passed since he had come back home – yes, Boston was finally the place he liked to call home – and talked things out with Felicity. After two more weeks of careful consideration and working out a new schedule for their week, Oliver had decided to give playing football another try. He had talked to the couch and joined the training. Today the coach had finally agreed that Oliver could stay on the team and he was so damn happy about it. He had immediately called Felicity to let her know because the guys on the team were great and a lot better than Sebastian and his friends.

Carter had suggested celebrating that Oliver was joining the team. Since some had early classes tomorrow, they had backed out, but Alex and Ted had decided to join them. They had gone to Carter’s place to hang out for the rest of the evening.  Oliver had agreed after Felicity had told him on the phone that Mae was fine though she had had a slight fever earlier today and she had been coughing for days. She had probably caught a cold. When he had arrived here, he had pushed his phone into the pocket of his pants to make sure that he was available. He had learned from his mistakes after all.

“So when’s your friend from Starling moving here?” Carter asked. “You said he was planning on joining the team, too.”

“When the next semester starts in a few months,” Oliver explained. “He’s a good player, so it wouldn’t hurt to have him on the team I guess.”

It was weird how much changed when you had just found the right friends Oliver thought to himself. Tommy wasn’t living here yet, but Boston had already turned into his home. He still didn’t mind having his best friend here, though.

“We’ve got a present for you by the way,” Alex said, looking at Carter meaningfully. “You’ve got the present, right?”

“Of course I got it,” Carter replied. He got up from the couch and walked over to his bedroom.

Oliver frowned, looking after him. “A present?”

“It’s just a little thing,” Ted explained, waving it off.

“Does everyone who joins the team get a present?”

“Just the ones who have made bad experience with friends before,” Carter called from his bedroom. “I told the others about it and they agreed that we should get you this little thing. It’s not really for you anyway to be honest.”

When Carter came back, he handed Oliver a badly wrapped gift. Oliver still thought it was a little strange to get a gift for joining the team, but he took it and started unwrapping it. He balled up the paper and let it drop to the floor carelessly. Then he unfolded the fabric that had been wrapped up in the paper.

“Wow.”

He took in the tiny jersey in the dark blue and white color of their team. His number, the nine, was printed on the back, the name Smoak-Queen in bold capitals printed above. He could already see Mae wearing the shirt while she was watching the game from the stands, sitting on Felicity’s hip. She would love that and he would love to see both of his girls wearing his team’s color and watching him play.

“This is really great,” he said, feeling weirdly emotionally touched by the gift. It was like they were welcoming Mae into the team and that meant a lot to him because what better way was there to show him that they accepted that he was a father? “Thanks, guys.”

“It was my idea. My little sister was totally excited when I got her a jersey like that and it was really sweet to watch, so I figured you would like one for your daughter, too. Glad you like it,” Ted said. He took a sip of his beer before he added, “You know, you can bring her with you her whenever you want to. She could be our mascot.”

Alex hit the back of their friend’s head. “Ted, she’s a baby, not a puppy.”

Oliver chuckled. “If Mae has a good day, maybe I will ask Felicity to bring her to the game on Saturday, so you can get to know her. She is a little shy of strangers currently, but she usually calms down more easily around men than women. It’s a little bit disturbing.”

Carter chuckled. “She is going to be a heartbreaker.”

“Maybe.” Oliver smiled. “I like that thought a lot more than thinking that her heart could be broken.”

“Hey, if someone breaks her heart, we are going to break his neck,” Ted assured, raising his canned beer to Oliver. “The team is like a family. That makes Mae our family now, so…”

“Thanks,” Oliver said once more though Ted’s words almost reminded him of mafia organizations, at least a little bit. It was kind of nice knowing that they had his back in the whole parenting thing. “There can’t be enough people out there keeping an eye on Mae. I am not really a pushy parent, but… well… Mae just started crawling, so it’s not like she can escape my care too much at this point yet anyway.”

The others chuckled and Oliver moved a hand through his short hair. He didn’t want to be one of those overprotective fathers who didn’t allow their daughters to date until they were thirty. It would be kind of hypocritical given how young he and Felicity had been when they had started their family. The thought of his baby girl going out on a date and maybe get her heart broken scared him nonetheless. He knew how boys could be because he hadn’t been a good guy before he had met Felicity, either. Then again maybe he should wait until Mae had taken her first steps and said her first words before he should start worrying about boys.

“I am going to send Felicity a photo of the jersey,” Oliver told his friends, eager to share this sweet gift with her.

“Tell her that she’s always welcome, too,” Alex said.

Oliver nodded and pulled his phone out of the pocket of his pants. He took a photo of the sweet jersey for Mae and was about to send it to Felicity when his phone rang and Felicity’s face was showing on the display. She had probably sensed that he had been thinking of her he thought with a smile.

He took the call. “Hey, Felicity. I was just about to send you a photo. The team had the great idea to-“

“Oliver?”

His name escaped her lips in a sob. Oliver felt his heart stop beating for moment before it started racing in his chest. He took a deep breath, steadying himself.

“Felicity, what happened?”

Alex, Carter and Ted immediately fell silent, looking at him worriedly. With held breath Oliver waited for Felicity to answer him. Mae had been running a slight fever when he had left, but it hadn’t been bad. She had been sick before, so it wasn’t the first time. It had never been a problem now, though. Of course they had been terribly nervous when Mae had been sick the first time. They had called both of their mothers and let her be checked by a doctor to make sure she was fine. They knew what to do when she was sick. They didn’t panic as badly as they did that first time anymore.

He knew in the back of his mind that there could also be something else that has been going wrong and had made Felicity cry, but Oliver just had a feeling that this was about Mae’s fever.

When Felicity took in a sniffling breath, Oliver’s grip on his phone tightened. “Hon? Tell me what happened, please.”

“I am on the way to the hospital,” Felicity told him.

“Why? What happened?” Oliver asked, already getting up. He grabbed his jacket and put it on, giving his friends a look and shrugging his shoulders tensely. “Felicity, talk to me.”

“I don’t know,” Felicity replied eventually. She sobbed once more before she took in a deep breath and told him quickly, “Mae was coughing. At first I thought it wasn’t that bad, but then it wouldn’t stop. It got worse and suddenly she was choking and-“

“You are on your way to the hospital?” Oliver asked just to make sure.

“Yes. Can you- can you please come there?”

“I am already on my way,” Oliver assured her. He was about to hang up already and hurry to the hospital when he forced himself to take in a deep breath and said with firm but calm voice, “Felicity?”

“Yeah?”

“Everything is going to be alright,” he promised her. “Just make sure that you two come to the hospital safely, okay?”

He could hear Felicity taking in a calming even if sniffling breath, too. Oliver squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his lips together for a moment. As panicked as he felt right now, knowing that something was wrong with his baby girl, he couldn’t have Felicity freak out and risk that she was getting into an accident. She needed to calm down and get Mae and herself to the hospital safely.

“Okay,” she whispered eventually.

“Okay,” Oliver repeated. “I’ll head out and come to the hospital immediately. We’ll meet there.”

“Okay,” Felicity said once more.

Oliver hung up and got into his leather jacket, explaining to his friends. “I gotta go. Something’s wrong with Mae and Felicity is taking her to the hospital and- Any chance I can catch a cab here?“

“Not really,” Carter replied honestly, shaking his head.

“Then I am just going to run,” Oliver replied, almost on his way to the door already.

“Here,” Ted said, reaching into his pants and pulling out the keys of his car. “Take my car.”

“Thanks, man,” Oliver said, catching the keys Ted passed him with one hand. “Thanks for all of this, but-“

“Go,” Alex encouraged him, nodding his head.

“And text us when you know what’s going on!” Carter called after him while Oliver was running to the door.

“I will!” Oliver promised.

He ripped the door open and started running down the stairs and outside. He got into Ted’s car as quickly as possible and started directing the car to the hospital. He broke the speed limit, not caring if he got a ticket, and only realized after half the way that he hadn’t even buckled up, so he quickly caught up on that while he was waiting in front of a red light. He tapped his fingertips to the steering wheel nervously.

“Come on,” he whispered in frustration when the traffic light just refused to go green.

He needed to be with Mae. She had never been seriously sick. She had caught a cold every now and then in the last five months and she had also been running a fever once or twice, but what Felicity had told him sounded like a lot more than just that. If Mae had really coughed that badly that she stopped breathing, then that wasn’t just a little infection. That was something bad and serious.

As soon as the traffic lights went green, Oliver stepped on the gas and continued his way to the hospital. Within five minutes he was there, he stopped the car in the first parking lot available and ran towards the hospital building. He came to a slithering stop right in front of the young guy behind the reception desk.

“What can I do for you?”

“My daughter, Madeleine Grace Smoak-Queen, must have been taken here a few minutes ago. My girlfriend brought her because she had trouble breathing,” he said. He was slightly out of breath but that was more due to the nervousness than because of the short sprint. “Where are they?”

The guy typed a few words to the computer. “They have been taken to the internal medicine ward on the second floor in wing B and-“

Oliver didn’t even listen to the end of the sentence. He ran towards the staircase and hurried upstairs to the second floor, turning to the right towards wing B. Oliver saw her as soon as he had pushed open the door. Felicity was pacing up and down in the back of the hallway nervously, her arms wrapped around her body tightly. Oliver forced himself to take in a deep breath before he hurried towards her.

“Felicity.”

Immediately Felicity turned around and crossed the short distance between them. She wrapped her arms around his waist tightly, pressing her entire body against his and hiding her face against his shoulder. Her body was trembling, loud sobs escaping her lips. Oliver could feel her heartbeat against his ribs. Her heart was beating just as quickly and as wildly as his.

“Okay, we gotta take some deep breaths together, okay?” Oliver suggested.

He pulled out of the hug just enough, so he could put his hands to Felicity’s cheeks. He framed her face gently, stroking his thumbs over her cheekbones. There were still tears rolling down her cheeks, but he wiped them away. When their eyes met, Oliver could see the fear in her eyes and he was sure that it was mirrored in his.

“Okay, we breathe in,” Oliver said, starting to breathe in at the same time like Felicity, still holding her gaze. He held his breath for a moment before he continued, “And out.”

They repeated this a few times until Oliver felt both of their heartbeats slowing down. They needed this to calm down a little. Only that way Felicity would be able to tell him everything that had happened and what the doctor had said.

“Better?” Oliver asked eventually and Felicity nodded her head. She leaned her face into Oliver’s touch and closed her eyes for a moment. He still felt tense and he was still worried, but he breathed out a low sigh. Then he angled Felicity’s face to kiss her forehead. “So what happened?”

“She just…” Felicity started but quickly took in another deep breath when her voice threatened to break. “She was coughing, but then it sounded so much worse. It was like she didn’t get any air and… I don’t know… I just got so scared and took her here because I have never heard something like that before.”

Oliver nodded. He gulped down the thick lump in his throat and asked, “What did the doctor say?”

“He checked her breathing and heartbeat and said it might be pneumonia,” Felicity explained. “He took her to get an x-ray to check her lungs and also took a sample of her blood. I… He said we shouldn’t worry too much before there is a result and that this could be serious, but it’s treatable and we don’t even know what she has yet, but… pneumonia?”

“Yeah, that sounds pretty scary to me, too,” Oliver whispered.

Oliver kissed Felicity’s forehead once more and pulled her back against his chest. He put one arm around her shoulder and one around her waist, holding her against him tightly. Felicity’s hands roamed over his back for a moment before they tightened around the back of his leather jacket. She pressed herself even closer to him and he ducked his head, resting his cheek on the top of her head.

He couldn’t even imagine what she had been through if it had sounded like Mae had been choking. Oliver still gasped for breath every time Mae pulled herself into an upright position, let go of the furniture and fell to her butt. The diaper was probably the best bumper to prevent her from getting hurt, so he was always the only one flinching when that happened. Mae herself just crawled away or got up and tried again.

When you become parents, everyone tells you how hard it would be and how much work you had ahead of yourself. Nobody warned you that you were often a lot more worried than you needed to be, though. That was why he was always trying to just check Mae’s reaction and then to decide if he needed to be worried. He knew it should actually be the other way around and he should just smile it away, so Mae wouldn’t start crying, but it just didn’t work that way around for them, not as long as Oliver hadn’t gotten more comfortable to watching his baby girl getting slightly hurt which was probably never happening.

Oliver kissed the crown of Felicity’s head. “She is going to be alright. Mae is strong and she can hold her ground. A little sickness isn’t going to change that she’s a fighter.”

While Felicity nodded against his chest, Oliver closed his eyes and let his own words sink in. Mae was a fighter. She was going to be alright. She just had to be.

 

 

With a low sigh Felicity crawled onto the bed and lay down on her side, mimicking Oliver’s position with her head propped up onto her hand. The fingers of her free hand laced through Oliver’s on Mae’s tummy, feeling their baby’s steady heartbeat and more importantly her even breathing.

“She finally fell asleep,” Oliver whispered, not taking his eyes off Mae’s face.

“Only took until” – Felicity glanced at her watch – “four am.”

Despite the reproach in her words her voice was gentle. She wasn’t really mad at her daughter at all. She was just relieved that she was sleeping contently. After what they had been through theses last hours it almost felt like a miracle.

Once Mae had gotten back from the X-ray, the doctor had called them back into his office. He had showed them the image and explained to them that everything looked normal and there were no anomalies on the image. When Mae had started coughing once more, he had told them that from the symptoms it might be whooping cough instead of pneumonia. To have the diagnosis medically confirmed he had taken a swab of her throat. The cultivation of the bacteria would take several days, though, and even if she was suffering from whooping cough, it didn’t mean the test would turn out positive. Bordetella pertussis, the bacteria that was responsible for whooping cough, was a quite strenuous little thing.

The doctor had eventually sent them home with antibiotics, telling them to observe Mae carefully. He had also mentioned that in some rare cases babies with whooping cough suffered from choking fits. They should come back immediately if that should happen. Felicity knew that the doctor had just wanted to inform them about eventual risks, but to Oliver and her it had kind of sounded like a warning. Needless to say that neither of them was going to catch any sleep until Mae was better.

“I still feel like I am in shock,” Felicity whispered, looking at their baby girl. Seeing Mae sleeping soundly had a somewhat calming effect on her, but it didn’t exactly erase the minutes of panic when they had been in the hospital. “I really thought we might lose her.”

“I know,” Oliver replied. He moved his head forward, resting his chin against the crown of Mae’s head and Felicity rested her forehead against his, closing her eyes. She felt a single tear escaping her eye and sucked in a deep breath to keep herself from crying. Oliver wiped it away and added in a whisper, “I was scared, too.”

Felicity knew he had been scared. She had seen it in his eyes at the hospital. He had encouraged her to take deep breaths and helped her to calm down, but he had been just as scared as she had been. What parent wouldn’t be scared if their baby was brought to the hospital because of breathing problems?

“Once Mae has gotten better,” Oliver whispered eventually, “I think we three should just spend a day together, doing fun stuff.”

“Like what?” Felicity asked.

She liked the idea of spending a full family day with Oliver and Mae. Every day was kind of a family day because they were always together, but doing something special would be fun. Their everyday life could be quite exhausting because they just had really busy schedules. They tried to make as much time to spend as a family as possible, but spending a full day just having fun as a family would be great.

“I don’t know,” Oliver replied. “Maybe we just have a picnic in bed or we take Mae to the zoo. There’s an Aquarium here, but it’s closed due to renovations, so…”

“You checked that?”

“Yeah, I thought a few days ago already that I would love to take you and Mae to an Aquarium again,” Oliver said with a sigh. “It has been so long since the last time.”

“Yeah,” Felicity replied with a smile. She could feel Oliver’s breath ghosting over her face and it sent goosebumps down her spine. “I would like that.”

Aquariums really were her and Oliver’s thing. When they had kept their relationship a secret back before she had been pregnant and everything had changed, they had often met in the Aquarium. They had felt safe there because none of their classmates had been there, so they had been protected from nosy eyes. It had also given Oliver the idea to buy Mae the pink octopus she loved more than anything.

“I think after all the trouble we’ve been through these last months, we deserve something good, so we should make it happen.”

“Yeah,” Felicity replied. She angled her head to kiss Oliver softly. When their lips parted again, she sighed lowly and asked, “It wasn’t all trouble, though, was it?”

Yes, the last months had been a lot of trouble for them. They had also had good times, though. It hadn’t all been bad, at least not in her mind.

“No, it wasn’t all trouble,” Oliver agreed with her. “We always had good times, no matter how much trouble there was surrounding us.”

Felicity smiled because she knew Oliver was right. Even during the pregnancy when it had seemed like drama after drama had happened to them, they had had their happy times. They had always managed to take time for that.

“How was your evening before I had to interrupted you?” Felicity asked. She pulled back a little, so she could look at Oliver and she pushed an arm under her head to use as a pillow. “Did you have fun?”

“A lot of fun, yes,” Oliver confirmed, nodding his head. “You know, there is a jersey for Mae lying on the passenger seat in Ted’s car. Carter and the rest of the team got it for her as a little welcome gift.”

“That’s sweet,” Felicity said, smiling brightly. “They sound like good guys.”

“They absolutely are.”

Oliver smiled at her contently and that made Felicity’s smile widen even more. She loved that Oliver had finally found friends that were really good for him. He was happy and that was all she had wanted for him.

“I already promised Mae that we were going to see you play on Saturday,” Felicity said with a sigh, looking at her sleeping daughter. “She was so excited and with her own jersey she will love it even more.”

“There are enough games you two will still be able to watch,” Oliver replied. “Right now all that matters is that Mae is going to be okay again.”

“I just hope the antibiotics will help her soon.” Felicity kissed Mae’s temple gently. “I hate when she is sick and this cough really worries me.”

“I am sure she’s going to be fine,” Oliver assured her.

For a long moment neither of them said a word. Felicity watched Oliver’s and her hand on their daughter’s chest rising with each intake of breath. Mae made low sounds in her sleep and turned her head to the other side with a sleepy sigh. She looked so peaceful that you almost didn’t believe that she had been spending a few hours in the hospital earlier today.

Felicity still remembered how much she and Oliver had struggled with the decision of what to do with her pregnancy. Neither of them had felt ready for this responsibility and they had been so scared that they would fail at being parents. For their age Felicity felt they were doing it quite well and she really couldn’t remember a life where she hadn’t been a mom.

When Felicity finally felt able to tear her eyes off her daughter, she looked up at Oliver. He was watching Mae, a deep frown on his forehead. His thumb was lazily stroking up and down Mae’s ribs.

“Something wrong?” Felicity asked.

“I’m thinking,” Oliver replied vaguely.

Felicity gave him exactly two seconds before her nosiness grew too much for her to handle and she asked, “About what?”

“My dad.”

“What about your dad?”

“He called me today.”

“So?”

“He wants to spend time with me.”

“That’s good.”

“It probably is.”

Felicity sighed in frustration. When Oliver finally looked at her, she rolled her eyes and teased, “Please don’t flood me with all the details. It’s like you are talking non-stop again tonight. I can barely follow your train of thoughts.”

Oliver chuckled and she joined in. It was no secret that she was the talkative one in their relationship. Oliver usually preferred to just listen to her. Tonight he seemed to be everything but talkative again. If he was going to continue giving away the information at that rate, maybe once Mae was going to graduate high school Felicity knew why he looked so thoughtful tonight.

“My dad said that it would be nice if we spend some more time together, father and son bonding,” Oliver explained. “He said that he knows that he has always been hard on me and he knows that our relationship suffered from that. When I was in Starling last month, he realized that he missed out on a lot which he regrets, so he would like to catch up on that now.”

“Sounds good to me,” Felicity whispered.

“It is.”

“Then what exactly are you thinking about?” Felicity asked carefully.

She knew that the relationship between father and son was a sore spot for Oliver. As a child he had always been eager to please his dad, but it just hadn’t worked the way it had been supposed to. Robert had been quite busy with the company and hadn’t had the most time for his son. Though that had gotten better and Robert had done his best to make more time for his family, it had been mainly Thea who Robert had focused his paternal love on. He had probably seen a chance of redeeming himself as good father in his younger daughter instead of making up for the wrong he had done with his son. It had led to Oliver acting out on parties and being lazy in school which hadn’t helped their relationship either.

A lot had changed when Oliver had told his parents that he was becoming a father. Instead of punishing his son for knocking up his high school girlfriend, he had been very supportive of Oliver’s decision to stand by Felicity in this. Since that day their relationship had gotten a lot better, but there had never really been the time to catch up on eighteen missed years.

“He is about to meet an old business friend and asked me to come with him, so we can spend time on the way there.”

Felicity perked up an eyebrow. “He wants you to join a flight of several hours? That is his way of making time to get to know you? Huh.”

Oliver chuckled. He leaned over Mae’s head to peck Felicity’s lips shortly. “No, that’s not his plan.”

“Good,” Felicity replied, “because I would’ve had to hurt him for that.”

Felicity’s relationship to Robert was as good as it could possibly be after only knowing each other for so short. Given their shared interest in technology they were lucky enough to have a foundation for a good relationship, some other foundation than the fact that she was his granddaughter’s mother.

“You’re sweet,” Oliver told her gently, smiling widely.

Felicity shrugged her shoulders, giving him an innocent smile. “I am very protective of the people I love.”

“I know you are,” Oliver replied. He smiled at her lovingly for a quiet moment. Then he cleared his throat and explained, “My dad suggested, instead of flying to China, we could make boat trip with the Gambit to spend some time together.”

With a dramatic gasp for breath, the one she usually faked to amuse Mae, Felicity lifted her hand to her heart and asked, “You are so in love with the Odyssey that you want to get shipwrecked and spend years on an isolated island, forgetting all about your family? O my god.”

Oliver chuckled. “You’re still sweet.”

Smiling, Felicity put her hand back to Oliver’s on Mae’s tummy. She squeezed his fingers shortly before she asked, “Are you going to do it?”

“I don’t know,” Oliver replied honestly, releasing a long breath of air. “A trip like that would take around three weeks and I barely got through the weekend without you two.”

“It would be really hard,” Felicity agreed, nodding her head.

“On the other hand I think it would be good for dad and me to do that,” Oliver explained. “I would really like to have a good relationship with him, you know?”

“Everyone wants a good relationship with their parents I guess. It’s good that Robert is reaching out to you.”

“It is.” Oliver made a long pause. “I just really don’t want to leave the two of you.”

Felicity sighed quietly. She really didn’t want Oliver to go, either. Now that things were finally better, she wanted to selfishly keep him here and enjoy some quality family time. She knew how important it was for Oliver to have a good relationship with his dad, though. That was why she kind of wanted him to go for his own sake.

“When would that trip start?”

“In seven weeks, right at the start of the semester break,” Oliver replied. “We’d start the trip on Sunday morning.”

Felicity nodded. “I am sure you and your dad will have a lot of fun if you decide to do this.”

“And that would be okay with you?” Oliver asked, looking at her intensely as if he was trying to find any sign of hesitation or doubt in her face. “Three weeks alone with Mae?”

“We are going to spend a girls’ day, well, twenty-one of those to be exact,” Felicity said with a frown, “which immediately sounds a little less extraordinary, but it will be fun nonetheless.”

“What if she gets sick?”

“I’ll take her to the doctor and help her to get better.”

“What if you are getting sick, too?”

“Then I’ll ask someone for help.”

“Who?” Oliver asked. “John and Lyla are going on vacation with Andria around the same time. They won’t be here.”

“Well, there’s still Laurel.”

“What if she has something better to do?”

Felicity sighed. “Now would be the perfect time for your quiet self and you seem to be unable to shut up.”

Oliver looked at her carefully, trying to figure out if she was serious. When Felicity winked, he lowered his gaze with a wide smile. He watched their fingers on Mae’s stomach for a while before he sighed and looked back up at her.

“I just… I need to know that I am not leaving you here with too much work to handle for one person.”

Felicity puckered her lips, trying to think about a solution they could both agree on.

“What if Mae and I spend these three weeks in Starling?” Felicity asked. “We have a full support system there and… I think it would mean a lot to your mom.”

Oliver frowned. “My mom?”

“She was here when you were in Starling.”

“She what?” Oliver asked.

He was about to sit up, but Felicity tightened her hold on his hand, calming him down. She could understand why he reacted like this. She had been nervous when Moira had showed up on her doorstep, too.

“She was here on Saturday morning, shortly after we talked.”

“She told me she was meeting some friends,” Oliver replied with a frown. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“She… kind of…” Felicity stopped, puckering her lips. “She said she didn’t come by to get back into your good graces and she didn’t even want it to look like that, so… she didn’t really ask me not to tell you, but…”

Felicity shrugged her shoulders. She could see Oliver’s doubt and hesitation about this and she understood that. She had needed a few minutes after Moira had left before Felicity had really understood. Moira knew that Oliver still held a grudge against her because of the money she had offered Felicity during the pregnancy. He had forgiven his mother for the most part, but not completely. Moira hadn’t come to Felicity to earn herself that last bit of forgiveness, though.

“What did she want?” Oliver asked with tense voice.

“She asked me to be patient with you and not give up on our relationship,” Felicity explained, shrugging her shoulders, “and she wanted me to know that she would support Mae and me no matter what would happen between us. She is trying to reach out and make up for what happened before and I want to give her that chance, you know?”

Oliver sighed. “So you would be in Starling while I am away?”

Felicity nodded. “I am sure Thea and your mom would like that. My mom would like that, too, especially since you are away. She always says you are stealing her girls’ attention when you’re being around.”

“You’re my girls,” Oliver whispered through gritted teeth, narrowing his eyes at Felicity playfully.

“Yes, we are,” she agreed with a quiet chuckle, “but we don’t have to tell my mom that.”

They smiled at each other for awhile before Oliver sighed. “Are you sure about this? I can’t just come back anytime. Once I am on the Gambit, I can’t just come back.”

“I think if you want to do it, then you should do it. Mae and I are going to be fine,” Felicity assured him.

Oliver smiled, nodding his head. “Then I am going to do it.”

“I am sure it will be great,” Felicity whispered.

She leaned forward and met Oliver’s lips in a gentle kiss. Their fingers tightened around each other’s on Mae’s stomach. When their lips parted, they smiled at each other fondly.

“I am going to miss you all these years I am going to spend with a hot nymph,” Oliver teased, breaking the silence. Felicity tried to box Oliver’s shoulder playfully, but he easily caught her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Kidding.”

Felicity narrowed her eyes at him, puckering her lips. “You better be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanna know what will happen with this little family after this story? Check out the announcement for the third and final installment of the series [here](http://smkkbert.tumblr.com/post/159420927340/the-there-goes-my-life-series)!  
> 


	11. Chapter 11

“Guys, I’m home!” Oliver called from the front door, letting it fall shut behind him.

He dropped his sports bag to the floor and put his keys onto the small table next to the door. While he was slipping out of his leather jacket, he turned around towards the door to the kitchen and smiled brightly when he saw Felicity coming closer with Mae walking in front of her mother. Her little fingers were wrapped tightly around her mother’s forefingers and her she was quite insecure on her wobbly legs, but she was walking.

Oliver went down on his knees, spreading his arms. “Come here, my little princess.”

Mae smiled happily and walked closer to him, still holding onto her mother for support for dear life. When Felicity stopped the length of an arm away from him, Mae put her foot forward cautiously, trying to get closer to her daddy, but she refused to let of her mommy’s hand. At eleven months it was just too soon for her to trust her legs Oliver guessed. The little girl looked back over her shoulder to her mommy, releasing an unhappy sound about the fact that she couldn’t move further. Then she turned her big, blue eyes to Oliver, hesitantly let go of one of her mommy’s fingers and reached a hand out for him.

“Dada,” she pleaded.

Oliver didn’t waste a second. He closed the distance to his daughter, wrapped his arms around her tightly and lifted her into his arms. He started peppering her face with a series kisses immediately, making the little girl in his arms giggle happily.

“Did you just say your first real word?” Oliver asked between kisses.

Mae had been babbling a lot these last months and she had said ‘dada’ several times already, but she had never said it like that. She had never looked at him and called him ‘dada’ like she really meant it and understood that that word should be reserved only for him. Today it had felt different like she knew exactly that only he was dada.

When he stopped peppering kisses all over Mae’s face, she leaned her forehead against his and framed his face with her tiny hands. They moved through the struggle because Mae loved the feeling of his scratchy hair tickling her palms as much as Felicity did. Oliver kissed Mae’s lips shortly.

“Can you say it again?” he asked in a whisper.

“Dada,” Mae replied without hesitation.

Oliver smiled and whispered more to himself than anyone else, “I wouldn’t have wanted to miss this moment for anything.”

He stayed in this intimate position with Mae for a moment longer until the little girl pulled back a little. Oliver’s eyes immediately landed on Felicity, who was leaning in the doorframe between the hallway and watched the scene with a happy smile on her lips. Oliver felt his stomach tingling at the expression of love in her eyes.

“She said ‘dada’,” he told her, beaming with joy.

Felicity nodded. “I have heard.”

Oliver watched her puckering her lips which gave her face a pouting look. He tried his best to hide it, but he couldn’t help himself but grin at her. “Maybe the next one says ‘mama’ first.”

“You are thinking about a next one?” Felicity asked, perking up her brows, “Because I feel like we still have our hands full with this little cutie pie.”

Oliver watched Felicity tickle the soles of Mae’s feet. It made the little girl squeal happily and move in his arms, but he held her against her safely and explained, “Yeah, I meant that for the far future.”

“Very, very far future I hope,” Felicity replied, nodding her head.

She smiled and stepped closer to him, framing his face with her hands just like Mae had before and straightened up onto the tip of her toes to kiss him gently. Their lips met in a slow kiss, moving in synch against each other’s for a long moment before Felicity broke the kiss, nuzzling his nose only shortly before lowering herself back on her heels.

“I love coming home,” Oliver said with a wide smile, loosening one arm from around Mae to put it around Felicity’s waist and hold her to him, “especially when I have my two girls waiting for me.”

Felicity smiled. “We are always waiting for you to come home though I have to say that I am surprised you are back already. I thought you were going to stay with the team a little longer given it was the last training before summer break.”

“Yeah, but given it’s only two more nights at home and four more nights before I will leave with my dad, I figured I wanted to rather stay here,” Oliver explained.

They strolled into the living room, sitting down on the couch with Mae sitting on Oliver’s thighs and leaning back against him so her back rested against his abs. She yawned, grabbing the pink octopus that had been lying on the couch and snuggled her cheek to the plushy fabric. She would have to go to bed soon or she was going to turn grumpy. He would put her to bed in a few minutes Oliver decided. Right now he just wanted to have her close for a little longer, knowing that he had to get through three long weeks without his little princess soon.

Felicity took his hand that rested on the backrest of the couch and squeezed his fingers gently. When he looked at her, he found her eyes already on him, taking him in. She had her head cocked, wordlessly asking was what going on with him. Oliver smiled. There was something wonderfully comforting in the knowledge that Felicity knew him so well.

“I am going to miss the two of you,” he admitted with a sigh, lacing his fingers through Felicity’s and tightening his arm around Mae’s stomach. “Whenever I think about leaving you for three long weeks, I swear my stomach twists.”

Felicity frowned, scooting a little closer to Oliver. Mae used the opportunity to take hold of her mother’s shirt. She used the hold to pull herself onto her feet. Oliver put a hand to Mae’s back to support her stand and make sure she wouldn’t fall back and bump her head. Mae turned carefully, looking at her dad and sitting down on Felicity’s crossed legs.

“Traitor,” Oliver mumbled and Mae squealed, not minding her daddy’s word. She leaned back, resting her head against Felicity’s breast and started taking in the tentacles carefully, babbling to herself in the meantime. Oliver watched her reverently, asking, “Can you believe she is turning a year in only a month?”

Felicity kissed the crown of Mae’s head, making the little girl smile at her mommy happily. It warmed Oliver’s heart in a way only these two here could.

“It’s unbelievable how quickly time has passed,” Felicity replied with a sigh. She was quiet for a moment before she said, “Back to your vacation plans for a second, though, you know that you don’t have to go there, right? If you really feel so uncomfortable about it, you don’t have to go.”

Oliver sighed. Since he had decided to go on the boat trip with his father, leaving Felicity and Mae alone for three long weeks, he had been going back and forth on whether he should really go. Spending time with his dad was going to be great and it was exactly what he had wanted for so long. Being so far away from home scared him, though.

Oliver closed his eyes and shook his head, chuckling. “You know what? The trip is probably going to be a lot of fun. Besides, I know that you’ve got everything handled perfectly and if you need help, there are enough people willing to help.”

Felicity smiled at him. “Exactly.”

She leaned forward over Mae’s head and Oliver met her halfway, kissing her gently. Their tongues met in a slow dance, stroking against each other’s. When Felicity lifted a hand and stroked her fingertips through the short hair at the nape of his neck, he moaned into the kiss quietly. He leaned closer to try and deepen the kiss, but Felicity leaned back until their lips parted. She shot a meaningful gaze down at Mae.

Oliver sighed, lowering his face until his forehead rested against his daughters, and whispered to her, “When we are in Starling, we will have to sleep there for two nights. I am sure Aunt Thea is going to be very eager to babysit you for one night, so mommy and daddy can have a little fun.”

Mae squealed like she understood exactly what her daddy had just said. Oliver and Felicity chuckled in response and Oliver kissed Mae’s cheek before he straightened back up a little to look at Felicity.

“A little fun, hm?” she asked, cocking her head.

Oliver lowered his gaze to Mae and winked at her. “We two know what daddy means, right?”

Again Mae squealed, kicking her legs in amusement. Then she yawned and turned her head against Felicity’s breast, releasing a deep breath. Oliver looked at Felicity again, watching a blush spreading from her cheeks down her neck, revealing that she knew as well as he did what he was talking about. Not that Oliver would have doubted that!

“I talked to Laurel today,” Felicity eventually said, clearing her throat.

Oliver grinned about the not so elegant change in the subject. “And?”

“And she once again asked how far Tommy is with his plans of moving to Boston,” she replied without hesitation, her grin widening. “If you ask me, it’s not going to take a week for them to get back together. I don’t even know why they have been fighting it for so long.”

“Maybe they just needed to grow up,” Oliver replied, shrugging his shoulders. “Tommy sent me a text today. He is going to take a look at apartments once I am back from my China trip. He asked if we could come with him.”

Felicity nodded. “Sounds good. I’m kind of happy to see Tommy again.”

“Oh, he is excited to see you again, too,” Oliver told her with a chuckled. “He always mentions how three weeks are certainly going to be enough time for him to snatch you two away from me, but it’s not like he did anything to make me doubt that who he really wants is Laurel. Besides-“

“-he is still freaked out about Mae,” Felicity continued with a chuckle. “I know though I really don’t know how anyone can be freaked out about a little cutie pie like her.”

Oliver chuckled. “We were freaked out when we found out about her.”

“Yeah, but we were in quite a different situation than Tommy.”

“Oh yes, we were,” Oliver agreed. He looked down at Mae, who was almost half asleep, and tickled her little feet to keep her from falling asleep completely. When Mae kicked her feet after his fingers tiredly, trying to make him stop, Oliver’s smiled widened and he looked back at Felicity. “It’s been almost a year.”

Even saying it a second time didn’t make it sound any realer. It felt like yesterday that they had held Mae in their arms for the first time, learning that Felicity was pregnant maybe two days ago. Time had just passed by so quickly.

“We handled this challenge quite well so far, didn’t we?” Felicity asked.

Oliver smiled. “It’s been a year, but Mae is still alive and living with us and we are still together. I guess we have exceeded everyone’s expectations.”

Felicity rested her head on their joined fingers on the back of the couch and smiled at Oliver. It was like they were having a conversation that needed no words. They reminisced quietly, sharing the most important moments that had taken them here with just the way they looked at each other.

“You know, I am sure I will have a lot of time during the boat trip,” Oliver said with a smile. “I think I should start thinking about planning our little princess’ first birthday party.”

“I kind of promised our mothers that they were allowed to do that,” Felicity stated, puckering her lips and giving him what he considered her cute look, the one that was supposed to make him forgive her for anything and never get mad at her. When Oliver gave her a look of his own, wordlessly asking why she would do something like that because they both knew their mothers would exaggerate with the party and if they planned it together, it was only going to be worse, she sighed. “I know, I know. It wasn’t a good idea, but my mother mentioned a dozen times that they didn’t get to plan a party when Mae was born and that they really want to do that now. And your mom mentioned it when she was here a few weeks ago, too. I couldn’t have said no without getting into trouble with them. Don’t be mad.”

Oliver grumbled a little because he would have really liked to plan the birthday party. He knew that their mothers would probably do it better even if it would be way too big of a party. At least it proved how much Donna and his mom cared about Mae.

“Did they say where they want the party to take place?”

“I think it will either be in the mansion or in Quentin’s home,” Felicity explained. “They have gardens, so it’s the nicer location.”

Oliver sighed. “And I had hoped that when I get back from China, we could go home and not spend much more time in Starling.”

Felicity smiled. “Don’t worry. I already told them that I would head back to Boston a few days before you come back and that you would probably take a flight from China to Boston instead of Starling. That way you could spend a week here with Mae and me before we fly back to Starling for her birthday. I already told Lyla and John. They will come, too.”

Oliver nodded, “Sounds good. I-“

Mae released a whiney sound, looking at her parents with tear-filled eyes. She was rubbing her eyes with her little fists, babbling syllables with unhappy voice and grabbing her pink octopus more firmly.

“Yeah, you are tired,” Felicity said, stroking her fingertips over their baby’s cheek. “Should mommy put you to bed?”

“How about you figure out what movie we could watch tonight and I put Mae to bed?” Oliver suggested. “I will have to relinquish doing that for three long weeks, so I am going to spoil myself with doing as much as possible with her.”

Felicity chuckled. “Hey, you can change all the diapers in the next days.”

Oliver scrunched up his nose. There were things that you never truly got used to. The biting smell of baby poop was one of those.

“Why aren’t you a unicorn and poop confetti?” Oliver asked, ticking Mae’s stomach. Instead of the hoped-for giggle, the little girl only released another dissatisfied cry. “Okay, someone really has to go to bed, but first a goodnight kiss for mommy.”

He lifted Mae from Felicity’s legs and held Mae in front of her mother.

“Good night, Mae,” Felicity said and kissed their daughter’s lips.

Oliver got up from the couch, cradled the still quite whiney Mae against his chest and carried her over to her nursery. While he was changing her diaper and put on her pajama, watching proudly how Mae lifted her arms to help him getting her into the shirt, he smiled reverently.

He really was going to miss all of this. Three weeks would hopefully go by soon. He didn’t want to miss too much time with Felicity and Mae. They were his whole life and he couldn’t imagine his life without them anymore. Three weeks would already be testing his limits a lot.

When he put Mae into the crib, she grabbed her pink octopus and made herself comfortable, holding the plushy friend close to her. Oliver leaned into her crib and kissed Mae’s forehead. The little girl looked at him and said tiredly, “Dada.”

Oliver smiled, stroking his hand over Mae’s head and watching her fighting the sleep that was already pulling at her. When her eyes finally fell shut and stayed closed, he whispered, “Don’t worry. Daddy’s here.”

 

 

“Felicity, can I take her now?”

“Yes, of course,” Felicity replied with a chuckle and held Mae out for Thea to take her. “You got her?”

“Yes,” Thea said, beaming with joy. The ten-year-old struggled a little bit with the baby in her arms, but she seemed to have Mae saved in his arms when she kissed her niece’s cheek and explained, “We are going to have so much fun together, Mae.”

Felicity smiled, watching the two. “I am sure you will have a lot of fun indeed. You know, I was wondering if maybe we two should take Mae to the zoo during my time here. Oliver and I took her to a zoo a few months ago and she loved it, so maybe it’s something she would like to share with her aunt, too.”

Thea smiled widely. “Oh yes! We can also take her shopping.”

“I doubt that Mae is a good companion for a shopping tour,” Felicity replied with a chuckle. “She is lovely and makes it so easy to love her even more, but I think that would exaggerate her loveliness. I am sure we get your mom or my mom to watch her, though. Then we two can do a shopping tour.”

“Cool!” Thea said. “Ollie never wants to do that with me.”

“What do I not want to do?” Oliver asked.

Felicity and Thea both turned around, watching Oliver coming from the Gambit with his parents walking hand in hand behind him. They had brought the suitcases onto the boat. Thea and Felicity would have come with them to see what the Gambit looked like from the inside. As soon as Felicity had put a foot on the yacht, though, Mae had started crying and struggled in her arms, trying to get away, so Felicity had decided to wait outside and Thea had quickly stated that she would wait with her.

“Going shopping with me,” Thea answered. “You never do that though you promised me to.”

Oliver scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably and shot Felicity a short look before he replied, “Well, that’s what sisters are supposed to do, right?”

“She’s only my sister when you get married,” Thea stated firmly, grinning at her brother and his girlfriend mischievously. “Maybe you should-“

“Thea?” Moira called over from the peer where she stood with Robert. If the slightly amused look on her face was any indication, she had probably heard her daughter’s words and decided to save Oliver and Felicity from the nosy question of a little sister. “Dad wants to say goodbye to Madeleine.”

“But I just got to hold her,” Thea complained.

“Thea, please,” Moira asked her daughter, giving her a warm look and cocking her head.

Thea rolled her eyes with a deep sigh and turned around to carry Mae to her parents. Felicity watched after the two of them while Oliver was stepping closer to her. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. Felicity leaned against him with a sigh and smiled when she felt his lips pressing to the crown of her head. She looked at him, putting her arms around his neck.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hi,” Felicity replied.

Smiling, Oliver leaned down and kissed her gently. Felicity sighed into the kiss, realizing that she missed him already. Since the boat trip had started to come closer and closer, she had tried to avoid the thought of Oliver being away from them for so long. It was impossible to avoid the thought now that she was standing only a few feet away from the giant yacht he was spending the next weeks on, though.

When their lips parted, Felicity’s hands fell from his shoulders and her arms wrapped around his waist instead. She leaned closer, ducking her head under his chin and resting her cheek against his chest. She turned her face a little to press her nose against his neck and breathe him in. She had stolen his pillow before they had come to Starling, knowing that it would help her falling asleep as long as he wasn’t sleeping next to her.

“I can still stay,” Oliver told her, rubbing his arms hands over her back. “I don’t have to go.”

“Yes, you do,” Felicity hurried to say. She leaned her head back a little, tightening her arms around his torso in the meantime. “You and your dad have a real chance here and I am sure that you will have a lot of fun together. Mae and I will be fine. We will miss you like crazy, but we will be fine.”

“You’re sure?”

Felicity nodded. “Yes, absolutely. Three weeks will be over in like no time. Mae and I will be patiently waiting here for you to come back home to us.”

“I hope I won’t forget that while I am having fun with the nymph,” Oliver replied with a grin and winked at her.

Felicity slapped his shoulder playfully. “Be careful, Mister. If you don’t come back in an acceptable frame of time, Mae and I might replace you.”

Oliver gasped for breath dramatically. “Replace me?”

“You might not be as irreplaceable as you think you,” Felicity teased, snuggling herself close to him.

“Hm…” Oliver humed and puckered his lips. “So how long is too long?”

“If you aren’t back for Mae’s birthday, we will forget all about you.”

Smiling, Oliver rested his forehead against hers. His arms tightened around her, pulling her into a tight embrace. She could feel his heartbeat against her ribs and it took her own heart only a few stumbling beats until it bet in unison with his.

“Good thing that I don’t want to stay even a day more than necessary,” Oliver whispered.

His breath ghosted over her face, sending a warm shiver down the length of her spine. It made her smile happily and release a sigh before she responded, “Good.”

Oliver rested his head back and put a hand to her cheek. Smiling, Felicity opened her eyes and leaned into his touch. Oliver stroked his thumb over her cheekbone gently, just watching her for a long moment. When his eyes drifted down a little, Felicity was sure that he was following the red color of the blush that spread from her cheeks down her neck.

“You know what I realized lately?” Oliver asked.

“What?” Felicity asked back, her smile widening.

“The only thing that really matters to me is how you and Mae see me. You two are my whole world and as long as I have the two of you and the two of you love me, I will be very happy.”

Felicity felt a thousand butterflies fluttering in her stomach at this declaration of love. She knew how much Oliver loved her, but she would never get tired of hearing it in a thousand different ways.

“As long as you are in my life, I am happy, too,” she responded, “and we will always love you.”

Oliver kissed her once more, only shortly this time because their lips had just met when Mae released a loud cry. Felicity and Oliver both turned their head to see their daughter struggling in her grandpa’s arms.

“I guess someone is getting a little bit grumpy,” Felicity stated and waved with the pacifier. “Good thing I remembered to bring one of her binkies with me.”

“You go and take care of Mae. I will follow in a second,” Oliver said.

“Okay.”

Felicity approached the Queen Family, watching Robert handing Mae over to Moira, who bounced her up and down on her hip and showed her the ocean. Immediately her cries grew quieter, making Felicity smile. Mae just hated to be bored, so when nothing was happening around her, she could get a little grumpy.

“I thought someone needed her binky, but it looks like you got everything handled,” Felicity said with a chuckle.

“Madeleine really is such a sweetheart,” Robert said with a smile. “I hope I get to know her mother a little better soon.”

“That would be nice, yes,” Felicity agreed. “Who knows, maybe when time allows it eventually I will get to serve another internship at Queen Consolidated.”

“You are always welcome there.”

“As well as in our home,” Moira added with a warm smile. “I hope you know that.”

“I do know that,” Felicity promised, still feeling emotional over the fact that Robert and Moira actually said it. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” Robert said with a smile. “And if Oliver should ever bring trouble upon you, you tell me and I will set his head straight.”

Felicity chuckled, shortly turning her head back over her shoulder to see Oliver on his phone. He winked at her from afar, making her smile.

“That’s a great offer,” Felicity replied to Robert, “but I am sure it’s not necessary. Oliver is a really good guy and a wonderful father and boyfriend.”

“I am sure it has a lot do with you,” Robert replied and held out his hand for Felicity. When she put her smaller hand into his, he shook her hand firmly. “I am very happy that my son found you, Felicity, and I am looking forward to really getting to know the woman who won his heart.”

When Oliver joined them a moment later, Felicity and Robert let go of each other’s hand. Robert looked at his son. “It’s time to say goodbye.”

Oliver nodded, releasing a sigh. Felicity watched him say goodbye to his mom and Thea before he took Mae from his mother’s arms. Moira smiled, taking her daughter’s hand and nodded towards the Gambit to signal Thea that her brother needed some room to say goodbye. Thea hesitated, obviously not too fond of the idea to leave her little niece’s side, but Moira pulled her away nonetheless.

Felicity turned to Oliver and he put an arm around her waist, holding Mae on his other arm. He sighed before he repeated his father’s words, “Time to say goodbye.”

Felicity smiled. “It’s not a goodbye forever, just for three long weeks.”

Oliver sighed one more. “Three very long weeks.”

“You’ll be back in no time. Mae and I will count the hours until you are back with us.”

“I will be counting the hours until I am back with you two, too.”

“I am sure you will have a lot of fun with your dad, though,” Felicity told him, rubbing her hands up and down his chest. “Try to enjoy that time at least a little.”

“I will,” Oliver promised, nodding his head, “otherwise I wouldn’t be going.”

Felicity nodded. She wished this moment could just freeze and she and Oliver could continue living in this, so they didn’t have to say goodbye to each other. Since her brain was just too rational for a thought like that, a nagging voice in her head reminded her of the impossibility of such a thing again and again.

Oliver seemed to come to the same conclusion because he tightened his arm around her and kissed her. Felicity’s fingers clenched to a fist in Oliver’s shirt, giving her more leverage as she straightened up onto the tip of her toes and deepened the kiss. She moved her tongue over his bottom lip until he opened up for her. Their tongues met in a slow dance and Felicity grazed his bottom lip with her teeth, making Oliver growl.

Sighing, Felicity broke the kiss, knowing that Robert and Oliver had to leave eventually. She nuzzled her nose with his and whispered, “I love you, so come back soon and safe.”

When she opened her eyes, she found Oliver smiling at her softly. He looked at her for a long moment, the honesty of the promise she was sure he was going to give her visible in his eyes. He kissed her forehead before he replied firmly, “I promise.”

“And don’t get distracted with pretty nymphs.”

“Hey, I have until Mae’s birthday to get distracted without consequences,” Oliver replied with a chuckle. When Felicity narrowed her eyes at him playfully, though, he smiled warmly. “Nothing could ever keep me from coming back to you two and certainly no nymph could. I love you.”

Felicity smiled, pressing herself closer to him. “I love you, too.”

“Dada, ga-ga-ga.”

Chuckling lowly, Oliver and Felicity both turned their head to their daughter, who was watching her parents with a deep frown on her forehead, looking from one to the other.

“You will take good care of mommy while I am gone, okay?” Oliver asked her and bounced her up and down on his hip. Mae squealed happily. “And you don’t give mommy trouble, okay? Daddy’s going to be mad when he comes home and hears that you have given mommy a hard time.”

Mae looked at Oliver with wide eyes as if she had understood exactly what her daddy had just told her. She shot a look at Felicity shortly before she frowned again, babbling as if she was trying to defend her future-behavior already.

Oliver smiled and leaned his lips to Mae’s ear, whispering in her ear loud enough for Felicity to hear, “No, be the wild girl that you are. That’s okay. Just make sure not to give mommy more trouble than she can handle okay?”

Mae smiled at her daddy and Oliver winked at her. Just a second later Felicity saw the change on his face. He looked almost sad.

“You’ll be back with us soon,” Felicity reminded him, “and I made sure you have all the newest photos of Mae on your laptop and I know you have stolen our first family photo from the fridge, so it is almost like we are with you.”

“Almost,” Oliver repeated with emphasis and sighed, kissing Mae’s temple. Then he nodded to where the rest of his family was standing close to the entrance of the Gambit. “Come on, we need to head out soon.”

They strolled over to the rest of the Queen Family, Oliver’s arm wrapped around Felicity’s shoulder tightly, keeping her close. Felicity put her arms around his waist and snuggled her head to his shoulder. She closed her eyes, enjoying these last moments of having Oliver here for the next weeks.

“Ready?” Robert asked.

“As ready as I ever will be,” Oliver replied, nodding his head.

“Okay, then let’s go,” Robert suggested. “I’ll go and talk to the captain.”

While Robert said his last goodbyes to his wife and daughter, Oliver handed Mae over to Felicity. He hugged both of them close for a moment and kissed first Felicity’s and then Mae’s lips, his daughter leaving spit all over his lips as he did so.

“I love you, the both of you,” he said.

“We love you, too,” Felicity replied with a smiled and nodded to the yacht. “And now go or you will never leave.”

Oliver sighed nodding his head. He kissed both of them one last time before he headed to the entrance, saying a last goodbye to his sister and mother on the way. As soon as he set the first foot onto the yacht, Mae reached out her hands after him.

“Dada!” she whined after him, struggling in Felicity’s arms to try getting closer to him. “Dada!”

Oliver turned around, looking at her with hesitation. When he looked at Felicity, she smiled at him encouragingly. “Don’t worry. She is going to be fine. She’s just tired and needs to nap.”

Oliver still hesitated because Mae was still crying. His thumb rubbed against the tips of his other fingers nervously. Only when his father called from the inside, Oliver blew them a kiss to left. Mae’s cries grew louder, so Felicity cradled her daughter closer to her chest. She put a hand to the back of the baby’s head, stroking her fingertips through her short hair, and whispered with comforting voice into her ear, “Don’t worry, Mae. Daddy’s back home with us soon.”

 

 

“Mama, ga-ga-ga.”

Felicity sighed, smiling at her daughter. She still was getting used to this tingling in her stomach whenever Mae called her ‘mama’. It had started a week ago and Felicity still loved hearing it a lot. She sat down in front of her daughter’s high chair and rolled one of the pancakes she had made and held it in front of Mae’s lips, but the baby turned her head away with an unhappy sound. Felicity sighed, putting the pancake back to the plastic plate. This was not how she had pictured her first morning back in Boston to go.

“I know this doesn’t taste as good as Raisa’s did or as daddy’s do,” Felicity said with another sigh. “You’ve been spoilt with all the good food in Starling for these past nineteen days. These pancakes are eatable, though, so you could at least try-“

When Mae just turned her head away again with an unhappy cry, rejecting the pancake her mother had made with a lot of love, Felicity just sighed once more. She leaned back in the chair and watched her daughter with puckered lips.

“Dada,” Mae said sadly.

Felicity smiled and stroked her fingers over Mae’s head. “I know. I miss daddy, too. Don’t you worry, though, because daddy is going to be back very, very soon. If everything went like it was planned, he should be in Hong Kong in only three short days. Then he is going to take a quick look at the city and come right back to us and we will be so happy to see him again. We will even go to the airport to pick him up, right?”

Mae still just looked at her mother with sad eyes. Felicity had missed Oliver terribly, but seeing how much her daughter missed her daddy had been even worse. Mae had enjoyed her time with her parents’ families and having mommy all for herself, but at least to Felicity it had been so very obvious that her daughter has missed her daddy terribly. Good thing he was back with them soon!

“How about you eat one bite for daddy?” Felicity asked, attempting to get her daughter to eat the pancake once more, but Mae just continued to turn her head away. Felicity only hesitated for a second before she decided to give it up. She took a bite from the pancake herself and strolled over to the wall cupboard with the chocolate cornflakes. She put some of them on the table that was attached to the highchair. “Is this better?”

Mae started eating happily, finally smiling. Felicity chuckled, watching her daughter for a long moment. Soon daddy was going to be back and then everything was going to be alright. Their family was going to be whole again.

“Dada!”

Felicity smiled. “Yes, daddy is coming back soon and we-“

“Dada!” Mae repeated once more, pointing her finger over Felicity’s shoulder.

Frowning, she turned her head. For a short second she even wondered if maybe Oliver had managed to get home sooner, but he was nowhere to be seen. She was just about to turn her head back to Mae and explain to her that it took a few more days before her daddy came home when she caught sight of the small TV she had switched on but muted. The screen showed two photos, one of Robert and one of Oliver. ‘Breaking news’ was written at the bottom of the screen. Her eyes still drawn to the screen, Felicity reached out for the remote blindly and turned up the volume.

“A mayday transmission was heard,” the news anchor said, “but so far there has been no trace of the Queen's Gambit. Among those missing are local residents Robert and Oliver Queen. According to sources close to the Queen Family, the boat had been caught in an unexpected storm and had gone missing after that. The last confirmed location for the yacht was-“

Felicity stared at the screen, unable to take in any more information as she was still processing the one she had just received. There had been a mayday transmission. That couldn’t be a good sign. She knew Robert and she knew that he wasn’t exactly fearful of the weather or whatever else could happen that could prompt a mayday transmission. That was a quite serious thing to do and Felicity couldn’t picture him sending one easily.

Even if it was the truth and the Gambit had gone missing as the news had just suggested, why would the news know about that and she didn’t? If something had happened, someone would have called Moira and Moira would have called her. She was Oliver’s girlfriend and the mother of his daughter. She wasn’t just a fling or whatever. She was someone serious and-

Felicity felt her throat tightening and tears welling in her eyes. She repeated to herself again and again that it didn’t make sense because of all the reasons she had just laid out for herself. Yet her body reacted to the news like it was already a confirmed fact.

Mae released a whiney cry. Felicity turned her head to look at her daughter. She looked unhappy, tears welling in her eyes, too. She was reaching her eyes out for her mother in a wordless demand to be held and comforted. Felicity was unable to move, though, so she just stared at the baby in front of her.

It still didn’t make sense. None of this did. Part of her knew that she could call Moira and ask her about this crazy mistake, but all Felicity could do was sit in the kitchen and stare. Mae’s cries were growing louder, but there was nothing Felicity could do to comfort her baby.

She didn’t know how much time had passed when she heard a wild knock at the door. She tried to get her body to move and check who was there, but her legs refused to lift her from the chair and carry her to the door.

“Felicity?” Lyla’s voice came from the other side of the door. “Felicity, please open up. It’s important.... Felicity?”

Felicity wanted to go, but she really couldn’t. She wondered if Lyla had seen the news, too, and wanted to keep her from watching them or wanted to calm her down about it.

She distantly heard the ringing of her phone and turned her head towards the sound. She saw Tommy’s face on the screen, smiling at her. Had he seen the news, too?

“Felicity!” Lyla called once more. “Moira called me! I… I need to tell you something!”

And with these ten words Felicity felt her world falling apart, felt the truth of the news in every cell of her body. She didn’t need an explicit confirmation to know it. She could feel deep in her bones it was true. It was just a feeling, but it was so strong and filled her whole body, making her tremble almost violently.

She went deaf, not hearing Lyla’s shouts of Mae’s cries anymore, and her vision blinded. Everything around her went black until everything had faded away and only one thing was left, the undeniable truth that something terrible had happened and her life had forever changed.

Robert and Oliver were missing. Missing, she reminded herself. People being missing meant that they could be found. It could, but it didn’t have to. They could also be dead.

With that thought every tension left her body and she just passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The posting of the sequel will probably start in two weeks, so there won’t be a break between the epilogue here and the first chapter of the sequel. :)


	12. Epilogue

_ Six years later _

Oliver shot another glance at his watch, taking in a deep breath and reminding himself to stay calm for like the thousandth time today. Looking at himself in the mirror in front of him, he stroked his hands over his chest to smooth the invisible creases from his white shirt, feeling his fingers shaking slightly. Once again he made sure that his suspenders as well as his bowtie were perfectly in place and there were no lint on or creases in his suit jacket.

Squeezing his eyes shut for a moment, he released a quiet chuckle. Oliver really couldn’t remember when he had been this nervous the last time. He remembered freaking out when Mae had been born and all the nervousness that had come with becoming a dad and watching his little girl grow up. Well, this was the next important step in his family life, so he was certainly allowed to be a little nervous or highly nervous to be honest.

Actually, it wasn’t really nervousness Oliver figured and opened his eyes, looking at himself in the mirror once more and watching the wide smile on his lips that he was unable to contain. He had been nervous when Mae had been born because he had been scared about missing it and he had been nervous so many times after that because he had been scared of doing things wrong. Today Oliver wasn’t scared of doing something wrong because this, getting married to Felicity, was the right decision and there was no doubt about that. That was why nervousness wasn’t what he was feeling, not really. What he was really feeling was excitement.

Oliver didn’t want to get over with the ceremony because he was nervous of doing the wrong thing. Oliver wanted to get over with the ceremony because he was excited to finally be married to Felicity. The wedding and everything around would be fun. It would be a great day, but what really mattered to him, the reason why he was so excited, was what would follow after that and that was a life with Felicity as his wife.

There was a quiet knock at the door, but Oliver didn’t get to ask whoever it was in. While he was turning around to face the door, it already opened. Tommy grinned at him widely, holding two shot glasses and a bottle of vodka in his hands.

“I thought you might be in need for some meds to help with the nerves,” he told him, stepping into the room and kicking the door shut behind him. “You must be dying from nervousness.”

Oliver chuckled. “I have just thought about the same thing and to be honest I am not even the tiniest bit nervous. I am just excited.”

Tommy shot him a look and adjusted the position of the shot glasses in his hands to pour the clear liquid into them. Putting the bottle away on the small table next to him, he held out one of the glasses for his friend. Oliver hesitated.

“I’ve just seen Felicity,” Tommy told him. “Trust me, my friend, if you don’t want your heart to jump right out of your chest when you see her walking down the aisle towards you and for you to die at the wonderfulness of her breathtaking beauty, you need this.”

Oliver pressed his lips together, rolling them into his mouth for a moment. When he couldn’t suppress his chuckle any longer, he eventually took the glass from Tommy’s hand and asked, “When did you become a poet?”

“A poet?”

“‘You die at the wonderfulness of her breathtaking beauty’,” Oliver quoted. “A bad poet is technically still a poet.”

“Man, if you see her, you will understand,” Tommy told him. “Felicity looks like… I can’t even describe it. She really is breathtaking.”

Oliver narrowed his eyes at his friend mockingly. “You do remember that she’s my fiancée, not yours, right?”

Tommy chuckled, raising his free hand defensively. “I don’t remember a time that I would have thought of her as being anyone’s but yours and we both know I definitely never thought of her as mine.”

Oliver smiled, lowering his gaze for a moment. When he looked back up, he found Tommy grinning at him.

“It’s been a long time,” he whispered eventually.

“Very long time,” Tommy agreed, nodding his head. “I know it’s been awhile, but I am still glad you’re back.”

Oliver took in a deep breath and nodded. His smile widened. “Yeah, so am I. I wouldn’t have this dream come true if I hadn’t gotten another chance.”

“Is it?” Tommy asked, cocking his head. “Is this your dream coming true?”

Oliver took in another deep breath, considering his answer carefully. Once he had proposed to Felicity almost a year ago, the two of them had started planning for a small ceremony someday very soon because they hadn’t wanted to wait any longer. When they had told the rest of their families about these plans, though, they hadn’t been met with too much understanding. Especially Thea and Mae had wanted a big wedding.

Oliver and Felicity hadn’t been too happy at first, but they had eventually changed their mind. It had just taken for all of their friends and families to point out that they had never taken a single moment to really celebrate the big steps in their lives. The circumstances of Mae’s birth had been messy and Oliver would have almost missed it. Her first word had been said right before he had left for his trip to China that had taken much, much longer than he would have expected in his worst nightmares. He had missed her first birthday then as well as her first step and so many other milestones in Mae’s life. This wedding was their family’s first big milestone that they could really take the time to celebrate the way it deserved to be celebrated and the way the deserved to celebrate it.

Moira and Donna had taken care of most of the planning with the creative help of Thea and Mae. Today was finally the day that he would get married to Felicity with all their friends and family witnessing the ceremony. It was going to be a big yet somehow intimate wedding in his family home. Somehow Moira and Donna had managed to plan a big wedding that still felt so perfectly intimate and matched what Oliver and Felicity had wanted for this day that it made him smile, just thinking about it now.

“Yes,” he finally answered to Tommy. “This is my dream coming true. Honestly, my dream has always been being linked to Felicity forever in a more official way. This day, everything my mom and Donna planned for us, is just the icing on the cake. Getting married to Felicity in a crazy ceremony with an Elvis impersonator would have been my dream come true just as much as this day is. Really, it’s more about getting married to Felicity than about anything else.”

Tommy’s smile widened before he asked in what was almost a whisper, “Who’s the poet now?”

Oliver chuckled, lifting his glass for a toast. “To poets.”

“To dreams coming true,” Tommy added, clinking glasses with him.

They both emptied their shots of vodka. Oliver felt the liquid almost burning holes into his stomach and he squeezed his eyes shut, his body shaking slightly. If the look on Tommy’s face was any indication, he wasn’t exactly delighted about the taste of the vodka, either. Oliver put his shot glass away quickly. He really didn’t need another.

“Ready for the duty of the best man?” Oliver asked his best friend instead.

Tommy nodded. “Absolutely.”

“I’m glad you agreed to do this for me.”

“I am glad that you asked,” Tommy replied. “Especially because I hope you will agree on being mine.”

Oliver perked up his eyebrows. “You and Laurel?”

“I… kind of thought about proposing,” Tommy admitted, scratching the back of his head. “Crazy, right?”

“Not that more crazy than me getting married,” Oliver replied with a widening smile.

Tommy shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know exactly when or how I want to ask her, but I will… eventually. Anyway, today is just about Felicity and you, so-“

When the door opened, they both turned around.

“Daddy!”

Oliver chuckled, bending down and spreading his arms for Mae. The young girl came running into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and Oliver lifted her into his arms, peppering her rosy cheek with little kisses before taking her in. She was wearing a white dress with a skirt made of tulle and a small belt with glitter stars that matched the ones in her hair band.

“Hey, Princess,” he said with a wide smile. “You look beautiful.”

“You like my dress?” Mae asked. “I picked it.”

“It’s great,” Oliver replied and kissed her cheek once more. “You really look like a princess, the most beautiful of all.”

Mae smiled before she leaned forward, bringing her face closer to her daddy’s and whispered, “You know who is more beautiful?”

“Who?” Oliver asked.

“Mommy.”

Oliver’s smile widened. “She is?”

“The most beautiful of all, Daddy,” Mae assured him, nodding her head. She played with his bowtie for a moment before she added, “You look beautiful, too.”

“So you think mommy won’t run when she sees me like this?”

“No,” Mae replied with a chuckle. “She told me to tell you her feet are warm. She’s wearing sandals, though. Maybe I should get her some socks for later.”

Oliver chuckled. “I don’t think mommy meant it that literally, Mae. When people are scared and are about to run away you say they got cold feet. Mommy told you to tell me that she had warm feet because she wanted me to know that she isn’t nervous.”

“Oh,” Mae said and chuckled, leaning her forehead against his chin. “I didn’t know that.”

“Well, now you know,” Oliver replied and kissed her forehead once more. He glanced at his watch shortly before he asked, “Don’t you have to go back to mommy and Aunt Laurel?”

“Yes, soon,” Mae replied. “I just wanted to ask Uncle Tommy something first.”

“And here I thought you were ignoring me,” Tommy replied with a chuckle, leaning closer to her. “What can I do for you, little girl?”

“Uncle Tommy, I told you I am not little anymore,” Mae replied, rolling with her eyes. “I am almost seven now.”

“Oh, my apologies. You are right. You are old. I already see all the wrinkles in your face.”

Mae laughed. “No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do.”

“No, you-“

“Hey, didn’t you want to ask Uncle Tommy a question?” Oliver interrupted the two. “We don’t want to let mommy wait with the ceremony, do we?”

“No, of course not,” Mae said quickly. “Uncle Tommy, when I am spending the week with Aunt Laurel and you can I show you the Aquarium?”

“Of course you can. I told you that we were spending the whole week just doing things you like. We are eating pizza and ice cream until our stomachs hurt and watch TV until our eyes are square,” Tommy told her and when Oliver cocked his head at him, he just shrugged his shoulders and told him mischievously, “Hey, you’re the dad and I am the irresponsible uncle that’s spoiling the kid.”

Oliver rolled his eyes, kissed Mae’s cheek and put her back on the floor. “Now run back to mommy and Aunt Laurel, okay? Daddy and Uncle Tommy will leave to wait for you in the garden.”

Mae nodded. “See you at the altar.”

Oliver and Tommy looked after her until the door was falling shut behind her. Then they chuckled about her.

“Mae really is one of a kind,” Tommy says.

Oliver nodded. “That she is. Thanks for taking her for the week.”

“Sure,” Tommy replied. “I couldn’t have her ruin the honeymoon sex for you.”

Oliver chuckled. When the discussion about how to spend their honeymoon had started, he and Felicity had soon decided that they needed a compromise between spending time alone and including Mae. That was why they had decided to prolong the honeymoon that had been supposed to take only two weeks for another one. He and Felicity were going to spend one week alone in Bali before Tommy would take her there, too.

Taking in a deep breath and straightening his shoulders, Oliver nodded towards the door that led into the garden. “Come on. It’s time for us to head out.”

They walked towards the door quietly. With the door handle in his hand Tommy turned around to him, smiling. “You’re ready?”

“I’ve been ready for years,” Oliver replied, nodding his head. “Let’s go.”

They walked down the steps from the larch terrace and walked down the long aisle between the rows of seats to the chuppah. The rabbi greeted them, shaking their hands.

“Nervous?” he asked.

“Just excited,” Oliver explained once more with a smile.

Once he and Tommy took their position, he looked at their guests. Really everyone, all their friends and families, were here. The sight of the chair in the front row that was only taken by a framed photo of his dad gave his heart a stitch. He shot a short look towards the sky like he could see his father looking down at him from heaven, but of course he couldn’t. Oliver knew that his father would have encouraged his decision. He had always been on his side about Felicity and Mae.

Only now Oliver realized how right this was, to not have a small ceremony where it was just a handful of people watching. This was a big step and it was a proof of how right they had been with the decision they had made almost eight years ago when they had decided to have Mae and raise her themselves. People might have thought that they were too young and trying to do this on their own was crazy, they had made it. Despite everything that had happened these past years they had really made it.

When the pianist started playing his first song, Oliver took in a deep breath. He straightened his shoulders, his eyes focusing on the open glass doors where he knew Felicity would come out from. He felt his heartbeat speeding up a little, his excitement growing even more.

“Don’t forget to breathe,” Tommy whispered behind him and Oliver forced himself to breathe in and out slowly.

It only took a few seconds more for Mae and Andria to come out in their beautiful dresses, throwing with rose petals. JJ, Lyla’s and John’s son, followed after the girls, carrying the rings on a pillow in his hands. While Andria and JJ sat down in the first row, right next to their parents, Mae put her basket with rose petals away and came to Oliver. He lifted her into his arms and kissed her cheeks.

“Did I do it right, Daddy?” she asked him in whisper.

Oliver nodded, smiling at her proudly. “You did perfect.”

Mae smiled happily and they both turned their gazes to where Thea was coming out, followed by Nyssa, Sara and finally Laurel. All of them wore dark red dresses in varying styles and were holding small bouquets of flowers in their hands. They took position at the other side of the chuppah.

Oliver’s gaze was glued to the doors now, knowing that Felicity be the one to come out next. He honestly couldn’t wait and he tightened his hold on Mae in excitement. Then the music changed and everyone got up from their chairs, Oliver felt his breath getting caught in his throat. Then – finally! – Felicity stepped outside, her arm hooked with Quentin’s as he was going to walk her down the aisle.

In this moment everything, every fiber of Oliver’s being, focused just on her. Felicity was always the most beautiful women to him, but he had never seen her this beautiful. It wasn’t even about the long white dress with the softly flowing skirt or the embroidered corset that accentuated her small frame. It wasn’t about the elaborate hair style or make-up. It was simply about the way she smiled at him, her eyes shining with happiness, as she looked only at him.

“She’s beautiful, right?” Mae whispered into his ear and tightened his arms around his neck.

“The most beautiful,” Oliver whispered back, never taking his eyes off Felicity.

The time it took for Felicity and Quentin to walk down the aisle felt like an eternity. Oliver enjoyed every second of it, trying to memorize every detail. This was a once-in-a-lifetime moment. It would never come back, so he wanted to remember every detail to tell his kids and grandkids about one day.

When they arrived at the chuppah, Quentin handed Felicity over to Oliver and he greeted her with a soft kiss to her cheek, whispering into her ear, “You look beautiful.”

Felicity smiled, a blush forming on her cheeks and spreading down the side of her neck to her cleavage. “Thanks.”

While the last notes of the music were playing, Oliver put Mae back to the floor and she stood between her parents, holding a hand of each of them. Oliver and Felicity smiled at each other over their daughter’s head.

When Felicity took in a deep breath, closing her eyes for a short moment, Oliver smiled at her and whispered, “Nervous?”

Felicity shook her head. “Just excited. I can’t wait for the rest of our life to start.”

Oliver smiled. “Yeah, neither can I.”

Their gazes met once more, locking onto each other’s. Oliver felt Felicity’s words resonating deep in his chest. This was it. Once this ceremony was over, it was official that the two of them and Mae were a family and belonged to each other forever. There would be no more insecurities, no more doubts and no more time stolen from them. And, yes, that was something he couldn’t wait to start, either. The rest of their life. Not lives.  _ Life. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, guys! For those of you who have read the last chapter of Time for a story, it’s probably not something new. I am having some struggles with my masters’ thesis that are giving me a hard time. 
> 
> Since Thursday, I have barely done anything. I haven’t been writing, I haven’t been eating much. I am not enjoying things at all. I am tired and exhausted, feeling kind of scared and like I will fail. Writing was always my happy place, but for the first time it isn’t anymore. 
> 
> Because of that you will have to wait for the sequeal a little. It’s already halfway written, but I don’t want to start posting before I am getting back into writing. I hope it won’t take too long, but right now I can’t promise anything.


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